Current field season
From April to June 2024, the fourth FLOW field season took place with 60 participating groups at over 70 stream sites across Germany! Thank you very much for this great commitment! We are now evaluating the data and look forward to discussing the results with you at the FLOW project conference on 23 September 2024 in Leipzig.
Would you like to take part next year? Then send us an email to
Here you will find a detailed description of the tasks for group leaders.
To introduce the project and prepare for the field work, we will organise online training courses in January 2025. In February, March and April 2025, full-day onsite training courses on macrozoobenthos identification will again be offered for group leaders.
Macrozoobenthos experts wanted!
Are you active in the fields of aquatic ecology and/or freshwater assessment or do you spend your free time working in this field? Are you a macrozoobenthos expert?
We are looking for biologists and/or macrozoobenthos experts to support our volunteer groups in their stream monitoring events, especially in the identification of macrozoobenthos down to family level. This includes supporting a group in your neighbourhood on the day of the monitoring event with macrozoobenthos identification (time required: half a day to a whole day at the stream). Depending on how much time you would like to spend, you can also impart macrozoobenthos identification knowledge to the group at a preparatory meeting or support the species identification afterwards with the help of photos or preserved macrozoobenthos. If you are interested, please contact us by email at
Steinfliegenlarve der Familie Perlidae (Photo: S. Tannenberg)
Tasks of FLOW group leaders
We recommend dividing the tasks between two group leaders (organisational "A" & technical "B").
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Participation in training courses (January-March):
- Online training "Introduction to measurement methods and monitoring process" for group leaders and interested participants (evening session, approx. 2h, online)
- On-site training "Practising macrozoobenthos determination" for group leaders (1 day, travel to the nearest training location)
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Organisation (January-March, group leader A):
- Organisation of field material/ordering of basic equipment from the FLOW team
- Recruiting a volunteer group (5-15 people, age 15+), communicating with the group
- Organising a preparatory meeting with the group (together with group leader B) to familiarise all participants with the monitoring methods, agree on the distribution of tasks, clarify questions and, if possible, practice identifying macrozoobenthos
- Organisation of a stream monitoring event (visit the sample site in advance, set date, organise field material transport and travel, meeting point, inform landowners, etc.)
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Technical preparations (January-March, group leader: in B):
- Individual familiarisation with the FLOW methods (together with group leader A) with the help of learning quizzes, video tutorials, action booklet, protocols, macrozoobenthos identification booklet
- Selection of the sample site according to FLOW criteria (together with the FLOW team)
- Contact authority to ask for authorisation for macrozoobenthos sampling
- seek macrozoobenthos expert for support
(It is important that each group is accompanied by an experienced person who is familiar with macrozoobenthos identification)
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Stream monitoring event (April - early July):
- Carry out a stream assessment together with the group (duration approx. 6 hours)
(Additional sampling in April is possible, can also be used as a trial run)
- Carry out a stream assessment together with the group (duration approx. 6 hours)
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After the monitoring event
- Analyse the results and discuss them with the group
- Upload data and photos of the macrozoobenthos in the FLOW web application
- if necessary, send macrozoobenthos samples to the UFZ (20 samples will be randomly selected by the UFZ, timely announcement by the end of March)
- accompanying press work if interested
- If interested, participation and contribution to the FLOW project conference (October/November)
