Services and Pricing
Services
- Taxonomic identification of benthic invertebrate and zooplankton samples.
- Data analysis and report writing.
- Data entry into CABIN database.
- Field sampling for benthic invertebrates and zooplankton.
Pricing
| Service | Taxonomic Level | Pricing Per Sample1 |
|---|---|---|
| QA/QC - Sorting Efficiency and Identification | Order | $100 |
| Family | $150 | |
| Genus | $200 | |
| Sorting Only | Order | $150 |
| Identification Only2 (Pre-sorted Samples) | Order | $125 |
| Family | $175 | |
| Genus | $250 | |
| Sorting and Identification2 | Family | $300 |
| Genus | $400 |
1These prices are based on samples collected, sorted and identified according to Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) protocols (i.e. subsampling using Marchant box (where appropriate), min. 300 organisms identified).
2Includes QA/QC on minimum 10% of samples per taxonomist.
For pricing on other services, please contact us.
Sorting, identification, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC)
Most samples are sub-sampled (unless requested by the client) to decrease processing time. A minimum of 300 organisms processed ensures the inclusion of more rare taxa and permits comparisons of richness among sites (Larsen and Herlihy, 1998).
The Marchant box subsampler (Marchant, 1989) is a box divided into 100 equal cells. The sample is placed in the box and shaken to distribute evenly among the cells. Cells are
chosen at random (through a random number generator) and processed until the minimum 300 organism count is reached. By knowing the number of cells processed you can determine the number of organisms in the entire sample (if 340 organisms are found in 10 cells, than the entire sample contains 3,400 organisms).
The taxa Porifera, Nemata, Copepoda, Cladocera, Platyhelminthes and Ostracoda are not included in the 300 organism count because they are not considered as part of the benthic macroinvertebrate community. They are still counted and their numbers recorded.
If required a reference collection of each new taxa encountered can be provided.
Sorting QA/QC
10% of all samples are re-picked by a different sorter to ensure no organisms were missed. The number of organisms missed must be less than 5% of the total sample. This is calculated using the following equation:
% organisms missing = # of organisms missed / total number of organisms
If the sorting efficiency is less than 95% (more than 5% organisms missed), all samples picked by that sorter are re-processed.
Identification QA/QC
10% of all samples are re-identified by another taxonomist. The errors must not exceed 5% error rate at the family level of identification or 10% at the genus level. Two error measurements are calculated; incorrect taxa and total incorrect identifications.
- % taxa error = # taxa errors/total number of taxa x 100
- % misidentifications = # incorrect identifications/total organisms found x 100
Resources
The following resources are available to NGOs and watershed groups to borrow from the lab (contact cri@unb.ca for details):
- Marchant Boxes
- tally counters
