Planet WGSW-24010 User Manual page 57

or tube without any additional water, together with a waterproof label. Normally a slip of
waterproof paper or semi-opaque matt film, labelled in pencil is sufficient; alternatively pre-
marked consecutively-numbered strips can be used with the number recorded on the MTR field
form. When using plastic bags, blowing air into the bag before sealing it also helps to maintain
the specimen in a healthy condition. On the label, record site, survey number, date, sampler's
initials and unidentified specimen name, eg 'unident. 1'. On the standard record sheet, the
unidentified species should be recorded in the 'other species' section, using the same name for
the labelled sample so there can be no confusion on return to the laboratory. This is particularly
important when more than one macrophyte from the same survey needs further investigation.
Particular care should be taken over the identification of Ranunculus species, as testing of the
methodology has shown mis-identification of Ranunculus species to be a common cause of
surveyor error, and thus of error in the MTR (Dawson et al 1999b). If in doubt, a representative
sample should be taken back to the laboratory for confirmation of identification, or identification
confirmed by an expert. Remember that if still in doubt, only record to the genus: 'Ranunculus
species indeterminate'. Where you are confident that two or even more species or apparently
differing forms of Ranunculus are present, but you cannot be confident about the precise species,
then it is allowable (or probably preferable) to record each species separately as 'Ranunculus
species indeterminate #1', 'Ranunculus species indeterminate #2' etc, provided identification
notes are made in the 'Comments' space and representative specimens are preserved in a
herbarium for future identification/comparison.
Representative samples of algae and bryophytes should be taken to the laboratory for closer
examination so that their that identification can be confirmed.
If the species identified is unfamiliar to all members of staff, is an unusual find for the river
sampled or identification is not 100% positive, send the specimen to an expert for confirmation.
If there is sufficient expertise in-house then an internal expert can be consulted. If such expertise
is not available an external specialist must be contacted. BSBI county recorders are a useful
source of local expertise. [Surveyors who have been on a training course run by Dr Nigel Holmes
can currently send difficult specimens to him (Alconbury Environmental Consultants, The
Almonds, 57 Ramsey Road, Warboys, Huntingdon, PE17 2RW) for verification, provided every
effort has been made to identify the species beforehand.]
If possible, representative material of all species regularly encountered in surveys should be
collected and maintained in a herbarium (see 4.7.2). This will make accurate identification of
difficult material easier and will aid in the training of new staff.
Quality assurance
R&D Technical Report E38 43