Upon receipt, BMI samples are checked against the Chain of Custody form and inspected for adequate preservative.  Samples are stored in the laboratory until processed. Subsampling and handling of BMI samples follows the CSBP (2003) protocol. Taxa are determined to the target level of taxonomic effort, counted, and recorded on a laboratory bench sheet. Each discrete taxon is placed in a vial with a label, which includes the sample date, sample I.D., taxon name, lab I.D., and project I.D. Vouchered specimens are grouped together for each project. Taxa and enumerations are entered in a spreadsheet. Primary metrics, B-IBI, and/or client specified metrics are calculated and entered in the spreadsheet. Electronic and/or hard copies of the data can be delivered to the client.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Approximately 17% of the "remnant" portion (that portion of the sample which has had all macroinvertebrates removed) of the BMI sample is randomly checked for any missed macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates are removed from small portions of the sample at a time. After each small portion of sample is picked of all macroinvertebrates a dice is rolled. Whenever a "6" is rolled the portion of sample just processed is reexamined. Any specimens found are noted. If the number of specimens found is greater than 5% of the number in the original removal, the entire sample remnant is checked for missed macroinvertebrates. After taxonomic determination, recording, and vouchering of macroinvertebrate specimens has been completed, at least 10% of the voucher vials are randomly selected and checked for accurate taxonomic determinations and enumerations. If any errors are found corrective action is taken. Most protocols call for QA/QC of a set percentage of processed samples by an external lab. The California Department of Fish and Game Chico Bug Lab has performed QA/QC on several BMI samples processed by Jon Lee Consulting. It is recommended that the client randomly select the required number of processed samples for QA/QC, in order to maintain objectivity.