Attendees check out aquatic bugs at a display by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo credit: Derek Gee/The Buffalo News

The Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office participated in Earth Day festivities sponsored by Tift Nature Preserve. The one day event was held at Tift Nature Preserve in Buffalo, NY on April 20, 2008. Biologists Raymond Li, Noelle Rayman and Bryan Young presented an interactive display with the theme "Aquatic Bugs Don't Bug Me." The display gave individuals of all ages an opportunity to examine aquatic insects at various life stages with hand-held microscopes and to learn about the important role they play in the ecosystem. Attendees had the added pleasure of being able to sift through bins that contained creek substrate in search of macroinvertebrates to get a better understanding of how aquatic insects utilize substrate for shelter.