Resources for conducting aquatic biomonitoring

The Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) is the national biomonitoring program developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada that provides a standardized sampling protocol and a recommended assessment approach called the Reference Condition Approach (RCA) for assessing aquatic ecosystem condition. CABIN provides the tools necessary to conduct consistent, comparable, and scientifically credible biological assessments of streams.

Manuals

• CABIN Wadeable Streams Field Manual
• CABIN Laboratory Methods: Processing, Taxonomy, and Quality Control of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Samples, 2020.
• CABIN Wetland Macroinvertebrate Protocol

Fact Sheets

• Application of DNA metabarcoding to biomonitoring

Field sheets

• CABIN Wadeable Streams (contact CABIN)

Sampling equipment

• Field Equipment

Reports

• National CABIN Science Forum 2017 Proceedings, February 28 - March 1, 2017 - Edmonton Alberta
• St. Lawrence Action Plan - What is the status of benthic communities in Lake Saint-Pierre? (3rd edition, 2016)
• National CABIN Science Forum 2014 Proceedings, December 2-3, 2014 - Guelph, Ontario
• National CABIN Science Forum 2012 Proceedings, November 14-15, 2012 - Fredericton, New Brunswick
• National CABIN Science Forum Proceedings, November 17-18, 2010 - Vancouver, British Columbia
• Comparative study of protocols used by Réseau de suivi du benthos of Quebec Government and by Canadian aquatic biomonitoring of Government of Canada
• Establishing Reference Conditions for Benthic Invertebrate Monitoring in the Fraser River Catchment, British Columbia, Canada (1999)
• Benthic Invertebrate and Water Quality Assessment of the Quinsam River Watershed in British Columbia, 2001-2006
• Benthic Invertebrate Assessment Of Streams In The Georgia Basin Using The Reference Condition Approach: Expansion Of The Fraser River Invertebrate Monitoring Program 1998-2002

Reference models

• Model Builder Checklist For Science Team Review Of Cabin Models 
• Reference Model Supporting Documentation Template For CABIN Analytical Tools

Further reading

• Selecting objectively defined reference sites for stream bioassessment programs