Bellingen Riverwatch
Macro Muster 10 Data
What waterbugs did Bellingen Riverwatch citizen scientists find in our rivers and what do they mean?
Written by Dr. Nakia Belmer.
What We Did
Bellingen Riverwatch volunteers and partners worked together to sample macroinvertebrates (waterbugs) at eleven sites across the Bellinger, Kalang and Nambucca catchments, very unique river systems on the Mid-North Coast of NSW.
Macro Muster 10 saw Macro Helpers, Macro Helpers-in-training and Macro Teachers-in-training come together, both to conduct an accurate count of waterbugs at eleven sites, but also to learn from the Macro teachers, further their knowledge and become familiar with the process for future musters.
What We Found
Our Macro Muster 10 data tells us that these rivers are mostly in good health. Most of the sites recorded SIGNALT scores in the very healthy range (above 4.9), which suggests good water quality persists, and a very healthy waterbug community occurs at all surveyed sites.
See sites and results on Nambucca Riverwatch & Bellingen Riverwatch Macro Map
See previous muster sites and results on Bellingen Riverwatch Macro Map
Macro Muster 10 Data Infographic
We have created two infographics to communicate the data from Muster 10. See our library of free resources here.
How does this Muster data compare with other Musters?
Move the range slider line along the top of the graph to show different site comparisons
B2
Cool Creek
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
The Bellinger River site B2 has been sampled during nine of the ten macro musters. The site has recorded SIGNALT scores in the very healthy range across all of the eight previous musters.
Results for this site are are consistently recorded as good and very good.
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B2 has recorded taxa richness ranging between 7 and 29 taxa over the previous eight musters, with seven of the previous eight musters recording taxa richness between 17 and 29. Macro muster ten recorded a taxa richness of 24 and a SIGNALT score of 6.46 which indicates a very healthy waterbug community was persistent at the site during autumn 2026 collection.
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The site recorded a very high abundance of known sensitive taxa from the orders Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera which resulted in an EPT richness of 11. Known sensitive taxa such as Gripopterygidae, Leptophlebiidae, Helicophidae/Calocidae, Hydrobiosidae, Helicopsychidae and Leptoceridae were collected which suggests that good water quality and habitats continue to persist at the site. The site also recorded the dragonfly family Telephlebiidae which has an individual SIGNALT grade of 10.
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11 EPT taxa
7 caddisfly taxa
3 mayfly taxa
1 Stonefly taxa
1 sensitive dragonfly taxa
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Order: Odonata, Family: Telephlebiidae, Gomphidae
Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera: Family Helicophidae/Calocidae
Order: Plecoptera, Family: Gripopterygidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
Order: Odonata
Family: Telephlebiidae
B3.1
Tysons Bridge
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
Results for the Bellinger River site B3.1 are consistently recorded as good and very good.
The Bellinger River site B3.1 has been sampled during all ten macro musters and consistently records a SIGNALT score in the healthy and very healthy range, with seven of the previous nine macro musters recoding SIGNALT scores in the very healthy range.
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The site has recorded taxa richness between 9 and 33 taxa. During muster ten, the site recorded a taxa richness of 12, and a SIGNALT score of 5.00, in the very healthy range. Results indicate a very healthy waterbug community continues to occur at the site.
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The site recorded three known sensitive taxa from the orders Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, resulting in an EPT Taxa of 3. EPT taxa collected included the mayfly family Leptophlebiidae and the caddisfly families Leptoceridae. These results suggest good water quality and habitats persist at this site as it supports a diverse and healthy Waterbug community.
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3 EPT taxa
1 caddisfly taxa
2 mayfly taxa
1 rare damselfly
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Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera, Family: Leptoceridae
Order: Odonata, Family: Diphlebiidae
Order: Ephemeroptera
Family: Leptophlebiidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
Hobarts Bridge
B4
The Bellinger River site B4 has been sampled during seven of the ten macro musters and has recorded a SIGNALT score between the healthy and very healthy range on six sampling occasions and once in the healthy range.
Results for the Bellinger River site B4 are consistently recorded as good and very good.
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Taxa richness at site B4 has ranged between 17 and 31 taxa. Results from muster ten recorded a diverse Waterbug community with a taxa richness of 17 and a SIGNALT score of 6.35 in the very healthy range, which indicates a very healthy waterbug community was persistent at the site during muster ten.
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Samples collected from the site recorded a high abundance of sensitive taxa from orders Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera and EPT richness was recorded as 8. EPT taxa collected included the mayfly family Leptophlebiidae and the caddisfly families, Helicophidae/Calocidae, Hydrobiosidae and Helicopsychidae. The site also recorded the dragonfly taxa Telephlebiidae which has an individual SIGNALT grade of 10. These results suggest good water quality and habitats persist at this site and continue to support a healthy Waterbug community is maintained.
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8 EPT taxa
6 caddisfly taxa
2 mayfly taxa
1 sensitive dragonfly taxa
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Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Odonata, Family: Telephlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera, Family: Helicophidae/Calocidae, Hydrobiosidae and Helicopsychidae
Order: Odonata Family: Telephlebiidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
NN1
Tuckers Nob
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
Site NN1 recorded a diverse waterbug community with a Taxa Richness of 21 and a SIGNALT score of 6.32
The Never Never River site NN1 has been sampled during all ten macro musters and has recorded a diverse Waterbug community across all previous macro musters.
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SIGNALT scores at the site have been recorded in the very healthy range on eight occasions and once in the healthy range. Taxa richness at site NN1 has been recorded between 18 and 26 taxa across all ten previous macro musters and greater than 20 taxa on seven previous occasions. Muster ten recorded a taxa richness of 21 and a SIGNALT score of 6.32, similar to previous musters.
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10 known sensitive taxa such as Leptophlebiidae, Helicophidae/Calocidae and Leptoceridae were collected during muster ten, suggesting good water quality and habitats have persisted at this site during all ten musters. The site also recorded dragonfly taxa from the family Telephlebiidae, which has an individual SIGNALT grade of 10.
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10 EPT taxa
6 caddisfly taxa
3 mayfly taxa
1 stonefly taxa
1 sensitive dragonfly taxa
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Order: Trichoptera, Family: Leptoceridae, Helicophidae/Calocidae
Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Plecoptera, Family: Gripopterygidae
Order: Odonata: Family: Telephlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera
Family: Helicophidae/ Calocidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
R1
Rosewood
River
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
Results for the Rosewood River site R1 are consistently recorded in the healthy and very healthy range
Over the previous nine musters taxa richness was recorded between 9 and 33 taxa, though more often than not in the high teens.
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Muster ten results revealed a taxa richness of 12, and a SIGNALT score of 7.42 in the very healthy range.
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The site recorded a very high abundance of known sensitive taxa from the orders Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera which resulted in an EPT richness of 7. Known sensitive taxa such as Leptophlebiidae, Helicophidae/Calocidae and Leptoceridae were collected during muster ten, suggesting good water quality and habitats have persisted at this site during all ten musters. The site also recorded dragonfly taxa from the family Telephlebiidae, which has an individual SIGNALT grade of 10.
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7 EPT taxa
3 caddisfly taxa
3 mayfly taxa
1 Stonefly taxa
1 sensitive dragonfly taxa
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Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera: Helicophidae/Calocidae
Order: Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae
Order: Odonata: Family: Telephlebiidae
Order: Ephemeroptera
Family: Leptophlebiidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
K1
Kalang River
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
The site has recorded a SIGNALT score in the healthy and very healthy range on all but one occasion.
The Kalang River site K1 has been sampled during eight macro musters.
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Taxa richness at site K1 has ranged between 9 and 38 taxa. Macro muster ten results recorded a taxa richness of 24, and a SIGNALT score of 5.75 which indicates a very healthy waterbug community was present at the site during muster ten.
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The site recorded six taxa from the sensitive orders of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, including the mayfly family Leptophlebiidae and the caddisfly families Helicophidae/Calocidae and Hydrobiosidae. The site also recorded the dragonfly taxa Telephlebiidae which has an individual SIGNALT grade of 10. These results suggest good water quality and habitats persist at this site in turn supporting a healthy Waterbug community.
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7 EPT taxa
4 caddisfly taxa
2 mayfly taxa
1 sensitive dragonfly taxa
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Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Odonata, Family: Telephlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera: Family Helicophidae/Calocidae and Hydrobiosidae
Order: Trichoptera
Family: Helicophidae/ Calocidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
NV1
Taylors Arm River
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
This is the third time that site NV1 has been sampled.
Results for site NV1 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 18, and a SIGNALT score of 5.44
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This is the third time that site NV1 has been sampled. Results for site NV1 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 18, and a SIGNALT score of 5.44, in the very healthy range.
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The site recorded five known sensitive taxa (EPT taxa 5). Three from the caddisfly families Helicophidae/Calocidae, Calamoceratidae and Leptoceridae and two from the mayfly families Leptophlebiidae and Baetidae. Results suggest good water quality has allowed for a sensitive macroinvertebrate community to persist at the site.
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5 EPT taxa
3 caddisfly taxa
2 mayfly taxa
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Order: Trichoptera, Family: Helicophidae and Calocidae, Leptoceridae
Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Trichoptera
Family: Leptoceridae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
NV2
South Creek
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
This site at South Creek, Bowraville in the Nambucca Valley was added to the program in Macro Muster 8.
Results for site NV2 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 6, and a SIGNALT score of 2.67.
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This is the third time that site NV2 has been sampled. Results for site NV2 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 6, and a SIGNALT score of 2.67, in the severely impacted range.
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The site recorded no known sensitive taxa. These results are significantly lower than the previous seasons and could indicate that there has been some poor water quality, habitat changes or that sampling only occurred in the edge habitat, as the taxa recorded are predominantly edge habitat waterbugs.
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0 EPT taxa
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Order: Odonata, Family: Synlestidae and Corduliidae
Order: Hemiptera, Family: Corixidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
Order: Odonata
Family: Synlestidae
Lane’s Bridge
NV3
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
This site at Lane’s Bridge, Bowraville in the Nambucca Valley was added to the program in Macro Muster 8.
Results for site NV3 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 10, and a SIGNALT score of 3.44.
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This is the third time that site NV3 has been sampled. Results for site NV3 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 10, and a SIGNALT score of 3.44, in the moderately impacted range.
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The site recorded only one known sensitive taxa (EPT taxa 1) from the caddisfly family Hydropsychidae. Results are similar to spring 2025, but lower than autumn 2025. This could indicate that there have been some poor water quality, habitat changes, or that sampling only occurred in the edge habitat, as the taxa recorded are predominantly edge habitat waterbugs.
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1 EPT taxa
1 caddisfly taxa
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Order: Trichoptera, Family: Hydropsychidae
Order: Odonata, Family: Isostictidae and Lestidae
Order: Odonata, Family: Corduliidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
Order: Trichoptera
Family: Hydropsychidae
NV4
Wiaora Bridge
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
This site at Wiaora bridge, Missabotti in the Nambucca Valley was added to the program in Macro Muster 8.
Results for site NV4 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 14, and a SIGNALT score of 5.38.
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This is the third time that site NV4 has been sampled. Results for site NV4 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 14, and a SIGNALT score of 5.38, in the very healthy range.
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The site recorded four known sensitive taxa (EPT taxa 4) from the caddisfly families Leptoceridae and Conoesucidae and the mayfly families Leptophlebiidae and Baetidae. These individuals have SIGNALT grades of 8, 8, 9 and 5 respectively. Results recorded during spring 2025 suggest good water quality has persisted at the site in turn supporting a healthy macroinvertebrate community at the site.
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5 EPT taxa
2 caddisfly taxa
2 mayfly taxa
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Order: Trichoptera, Family: Helicophidae and Calocidae, Hydrobiosidae and Leptoceridae
Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
Order: Trichoptera
Family: Hydrobiosidae
Upper Buckra
NV5
See site location on Bellingen Riverwatch & Nambucca Riverwatch Macro Map.
This site at Upper Buckrabendinni in the Nambucca Valley was added to the program in Macro Muster 10.
This is the first time that site NV5 has been sampled. Results for site NV5 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 18, and a SIGNALT score of 5.88.
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This is the first time that site NV5 has been sampled. Results for site NV5 from autumn 2026 sampling recorded a taxa richness of 18, and a SIGNALT score of 5.88, in the very healthy range.
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The site recorded five known sensitive taxa (EPT taxa 5). Five from the caddisfly families Leptoceridae, Hydropsychidae and Philopotamidae and two from the mayfly families Leptophlebiidae and Baetidae. Results suggest good water quality has allowed for a sensitive macroinvertebrate community to persist at the site. The site also recorded dragonfly taxa from the family Telephlebiidae, which has an individual SIGNALT grade of 10.
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5 EPT taxa
3 caddisfly taxa
2 mayfly taxa
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Order: Trichoptera, Family: Leptoceridae and Philopotamidae
Order: Ephemeroptera, Family: Leptophlebiidae
Order: Odonata: Family: Telephlebiidae
Image by Shane Ruming, DPE
Order:Odonata
Family: Telephlebiidae
It is everyone’s responsibility to maintain and improve our rivers.
We report on our data to help influence policy and decision making, and educate the community, now and into the future.
Note - Our raw data is shared with with the NSW Government Saving our Species recovery program for the BRST and is additionally available at both the Waterwatch portal and the DPIE SEED portal.
Raw Data
Our raw data can be found at the links below :
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Amy Denshire
Co-CEO
amy@ozgreen.org.au
02 5615 8108
Macro Muster 9 Partners
Connect with Us
Trish Reinten
Bellingen Riverwatch Coordinator
trish@ozgreen.org.au