TPW TV BUG MAN: Aquatic invertebrates and why we study 
them [05 “…what all we find.”] ...ahead on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

The Blanco River flood of 2015 devastated vegetation 
along the river banks, and demolished river substrate.  

13— These flood levels were really huge. Regular discharge on 
the Blanco river is about 90cfs, which means cubic feet per 
second, and it peaked around 150,000 cfs.

Archis Grubh is an aquatic biologist.

02— I primarily focus on the invertebrates.
 
He says that flood knocked out nearly 90 percent of the 
river’s invertebrates, which are essentially aquatic bugs. 

08— Invertebrates are really good indicators of water quality. 
Because, if the water quality is going down, those are the first 
ones to disappear from the water.

Since the flood, Dr. Grubh’s collected specimens, which 
he’s taken back to his lab.

16— We collect three samples; we just dump all whatever we 
have. There’s gonna be tons of insects packed in it. It’s very 
important, because I’m studying and finding out what all the 
diversity of these invertebrates are. So, I am capturing a 
snapshot here and recording what all we find.

Diversity means a healthier river ecosystem overall. 
Grubh’s research will help in future river management.

04— [I want to find out] Which ones were most affected and 
how they are doing now.

Learn more about Dr. Grubh and his work next week on a 
segment of the TPW TV series on PBS.  

The Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration program supports 
our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti. 
Total sound bite time:		                 0:43.0
Maximum Script time:		                 0:42.0                     Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25