If you have sampled using a sweep technique, it is not useful to compare these results with those collected using a kick technique. Check your macro-invertebrate sampling nets for holes or tears and repair or replace if necessary. If you intend to use a site repeatedly, it may be helpful to mark the site so that you and other group members can easily find it again. One way is to attach a plastic disc to a nearby fence post and mark it with a waterproof pen. When referencing your sites using easting and northings, remembering the order of these 4 and 5 digit numbers can be confusing.
Photographs provide an excellent record of exactly how a stream changes.
Before and after pictures are valuable in depicting stream alteration. When sampling for macro-invertebrates using a kick sampling technique, always turn over large stones back over after sampling. This allows the habitat to remain after initially disturbing it. When using the sweep sampling technique for sampling macro-invertebrates you can determine the length of stream to sample quite easily. Multiply the width of the stream at its widest point by ten.