Surveying species while the sun shines

Holding onto his specimen net, Johnathon Cole (above) waits for the group to get their equipment together before wading into the San Marcos River to collect macroinvertebrates to determine the water quality one recent afternoon below Saltgrass Steakhouse before the cold weather struck. Daily Record photos by Denise Cathey

Katherine Winkles holds the specimen tray as they examine what he was able to catch in his net for the Aquatic Science Adventure Camp.

Aquatic science enthusiasts who waded into the San Marcos River to collect specimens that help tell scientists about water quality found fragments of a small red aquatic worm.

Daniel Putegnat wades carefully through the river with his specimen net as he looks for new species to temporarily capture for study back in the lab at Texas State University’s Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center.