The Claw Sampler—A Macroinvertebrate Sampler for Scuba Divers

Abstract

A device is described that can be used by scuba divers to obtain quantitative macroinvertebrate samples from flat surfaces. Called the “claw sampler,” it was designed to collect macroinvertebrates colonizing spawning benches in Tennessee reservoirs. The spawning benches, 3.0-m × 25-cm wood slabs attached to 30-cm concrete blocks, were used to simulate logs under which smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu spawn. The claw sampler effectively collected quantitative samples of coleopterans, dipterans, ephemeropterans, odonates, trichopterans, cladocerans, and gastropods that colonized the spawning benches and provided a readily available food supply for age-0 smallmouth bass and other fishes.