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Specimen records of benthic macroinvertebrate samples collected by Norman H. 
Anderson in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens, 1980-1990

Brandy K. Kamakawiwo‘ole1, Grace D. Weppler1, Carri J. LeRoy1*

* Corresponding author: leroyc@evergreen.edu
1 The Evergreen State College, Environmental Studies Program, Olympia, WA

Cite this work, including the attached dataset and records therein, as:  

Kamakawiwo‘ole, B. K., Weppler, G. D., & LeRoy, C. J. 2022. Specimen records of benthic macroinvertebrate samples 
collected by Norman H. Anderson in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens, 1980-1990. Catalog of the Oregon 
State Arthropod Collection. 6(2):1 -6. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5399/osu/cat_osac.6.2.4962.

Abstract

A private collection of 905 vials containing mostly aquatic macroinvertebrates is presented from Dr. 
Norman Herbert Anderson, Professor of Entomology at Oregon State University from 1962-1995. The 
majority of these specimens were collected from multiple freshwater streams during his research at 
Mount St. Helens (WA, USA) soon after the May 18, 1980 eruption. This collection also includes 15 
vials containing specimens collected by Luis A. Fusté from the Muddy River (WA, USA) on March 29, 
1980, less than 2 months before the eruption. The vast majority of these vials include a label indicating 
the sampling location, the date collected, and taxonomic identification.

Introduction

This publication describes aquatic macroinvertebrate samples collected by Dr. Norman H. Anderson 
between the years of 1980 and 1990. The majority of these specimens were collected from freshwater 
streams in the area surrounding Mount St. Helens (Lawetlat’la in Cowlitz) after the major eruption in 
1980. The eruption caused many streams within the volcanic eruption zone to fill with ash, sediment, 
and woody debris from the surrounding forest. Most samples with a known location were collected 
from Ape Creek, Clearwater Creek, or Elk Creek with a small minority originating from lakes 
surrounding Mount St. Helens. Clearwater Creek is located to the east of Mount St. Helens whereas 
Elk Creek is located directly to the west, offering some insight into how stream macroinvertebrates in 
different areas of Mount St. Helens were affected in the aftermath of the eruption. The samples were 
taken from two months prior to the eruption to up to a decade afterwards. 

Historic collections like the ones described here make valuable comparisons to contemporary 
collections and surveys at Mount St. Helens. For example, surveys in 2016 of twenty-one locations 
across five new watersheds that have formed on the Pumice Plain, which experienced the most 
extreme level of disturbance during the 1980 eruption, resulted in collections of over 82 benthic 
macroinvertebrate taxa, including 74 aquatic insect taxa (Claeson et al. 2021). Primary succession 
research in stream ecosystems is limited, and assessments of genetic variation for early-establishing 
taxa may provide valuable information for understanding population dynamics in this ecosystem, as 
well as patterns of community assembly.



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Methods

Approximately half of the vials in this collection are stored in four cardboard boxes (10 inches in 
length, 5 inches in width, and 1.75 inches in depth). The other half are stored in wooden vial racks 
(Figure 1).

Each individual vial was carefully viewed.  Handwritten information from labels, storage boxes, 
and wooden racks was recorded in an Excel spreadsheet along with the taxonomic identification 
for specimens collected. If no taxonomic identification was indicated, insects were identified to the 
lowest taxonomic level possible using a dissecting microscope along with a variety of dichotomous 
keys (Merritt et al. 2008, Stewart & Stark 2002, Wiggins 1996, Thorp & Covich 2001) and recorded in a 
‘Preliminary Identification’ column. Great care was used while handling specimens, which were not 
removed from vials (Figure 2).

After recording each vial’s information, an acid-free card-stock label inscribed with a unique 10-digit 
serial number (with both a visible and machine-readable data matrix 2D barcode) was inserted. The 
vial was then placed back into the original box or wooden rack.  

 
The locations of the sampled 
sites were determined using 
Google Earth based on locations 
either indicated on the box or on 
individual labels inserted in vials. 
Approximate GPS coordinates 
were determined by researching 
site names and locating the 
closest road to the site area. 
Most samples were collected 
from freshwater streams and 
tributaries in the vicinity around 
Mount St. Helens. 

Description of the collection

The collection consists 
of 905 vials of aquatic 
macroinvertebrates (and a few 
vertebrates) collected by Dr. 
Norman Herbert Anderson, 
Professor of Entomology at 

Figure 1.  Some of the 903 vials from the collection of Dr. Norman H. 
Anderson donated to the Oregon State Arthropod Collection in 2018. Photo by 
Brandy K. Kamakawiwo‘ole

Oregon State University from 1962-1995. The majority of these specimens were collected from 
freshwater streams in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens (WA, USA) following the May 18, 1980 
eruption. The dates range from March 29, 1980 to September 8, 1990. Some of these specimens may 
be associated with Fusté (1981), Anderson & Hansen (1987), Furnish (1989), Meyerhoff (1991), and 
Anderson (1992) but we were not always able to make concrete connections.
 The collection includes 288 vials from Clearwater and Elk Creeks from 1980-1989 (Figure 3). 
These vials are shown to be connected to Richard D. Meyerhoff’s (1991) dissertation, “Post-eruption 
recovery and secondary production of grazing insects in two streams near Mt. St. Helens.”



Catalog: Oregon State Arthropod Collection   Vol 6(2)

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Figure 2.  Vials containing specimens collected from Mount St. Helens in 1981. Photo by Brandy K. Kamakawiwo‘ole.

Figure 3. A well-preserved specimen, 
Hexatoma sp., collected from Elk 
Creek (WA) in July 1989. Photo by 
Brandy K. Kamakawiwo‘ole

The collection also includes 90 vials from Ape Canyon, Ape 
Creek, and Ape Tributary from 1980-1987. These vials are 
shown to be connected to Anderson’s (1992) publication: 
Influence of disturbance on insect communities in Pacific Northwest 
streams.

Seventeen samples are from Oregon State. Two samples are 
from the H.J. Andrews Long-term Ecological Research area in 
Lane County, OR (OSAC_0001220715 and OSAC_0001220730). 
Thirteen samples are from Benton County, OR from a stream 
called Berry Creek (OSAC_0001220716 - OSAC_0001220727) 
and one sample is from Oak Creek in the same county 
(OSAC_0001220731). One sample is from Crater Lake, OR 
(OSAC_0001220639). We assumed all other samples were from 
Skamania County in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens based on 
labels on boxes. 

Four samples are small vertebrates in the families Salmonidae 
(OSAC_0001220950) and the orders Scorpaeniformes 
(OSAC_0001220954) and Petromyzontiformes (ammocoete 
larvae) (OSAC_0001220394 and OSAC_0001220710). 

An additional 15 vials containing specimens collected by Luis 
A. Fusté from the Muddy River (WA, USA) on March 29, 1980, 
prior to the eruption are included in this collection. These vials 
may be associated with Fusté’s (1981) publication, “Effects of 



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the Mount St. Helens eruption on the benthic fauna of the Toutle River, Muddy River, and Pine Creek 
drainage basins, Washington.”

OSAC Identifier Date Collected Location Taxa
OSAC_0001220290 3/29/80 Muddy River Chironomidae
OSAC_0001220291 3/29/80 Muddy River Ephemeroptera
OSAC_0001220292 3/29/80 Muddy River Plecoptera
OSAC_0001220293 3/29/80 Muddy River Ephemeroptera
OSAC_0001220294 3/29/80 Muddy River Ephemeroptera
OSAC_0001220295 3/29/80 Muddy River Chironomidae & 

Ceratopogonidae
OSAC_0001220296 3/29/80 Muddy River Ephemerellidae
OSAC_0001220297 3/29/80 Muddy River Plecoptera
OSAC_0001220298 3/29/80 Muddy River Plecoptera
OSAC_0001220299 3/29/80 Muddy River Plecoptera
OSAC_0001220300 3/29/80 Muddy River Baetidae & 

Ephemerellidae
OSAC_0001220301 3/29/80 Muddy River Chironomidae
OSAC_0001220302 3/29/80 Muddy River Plecoptera
OSAC_0001220303 3/29/80 Muddy River Plecoptera
OSAC_0001220312 3/30/80 Muddy River Ephemeroptera

Acknowledgement 

Support for this study was provided by the National Science Foundation, through grant DEB 
#1836387 to CJL. The Evergreen State College provided support through lab facilities and 
supplies. We are grateful to Christopher Marshall at Oregon State Arthropod Collection and 
David Lytle at Oregon State University for the opportunity to inventory these samples. We 
thank Shannon M. Claeson for her insight into documenting these vials, River Scheuerell 
and Corwin Ries for constructive feedback on early drafts, and The Evergreen State College 
for providing opportunities for undergraduate research. Author contributions: BKK took a 
leadership role in this project and provided all quality control on sample inventory and a 
leadership role in writing the final draft of the manuscript. GDW made valuable contributions 
to the inventory of samples and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. CJL collaborated 
closely on all aspects of this research project and provided edits to all drafts of the manuscript 
and final spreadsheet.

Table 1. Specimens collected from Muddy River on March 29, 1980: These vials are connected to Fusté (1981)



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Supplemental File 

Supplemental File 1: The entire dataset is provided here as a supplemental file in standard text 
file format (comma separated values). The dataset contains 905 records (OSAC_0001220100 — 
OSAC_0001221004). The dataset contains the following 33 fields, as follows: 
1. catalogNumber 
2. date (dd/mm/yyyy)
3. state (USA: WA or OR)
4. county
5. locality (most samples are from the vicinity around Mount St. Helens), 
6. site: specific field locations within locality. 
7. replicateNumber: (a replicate number sometimes included on various labels)
8. preservativeStatus (presence of ethanol, yes/no)
9—17 Taxonomic information
 9. mixedTaxonDescription: (a description of contents if vial contains multiple taxa)  
 10. phylum
 11. class, 
 12. subclass, 
 13. order, 
 14. family,
 15. subfamily
 16. genus,
 17. species,
18. determinedBy: person who originally identified contents of vial
19. mixedTaxonDesscription2: (a redeterminatino of contents if vial contains multiple taxa)
20—24. Redeterminations  (new determinations made in 2021)
  20.subclass2: redetermined subclass,
 21. order2: redetermined order,
 22. family2: redetermined family,
 23. genus2: redetermined genus,
 24. species2: redetermined species,
25. redeterminedBy: person who re-determined contents of vial,
26. quantity: either an explicit count or an estimate,
27. decimalLatitude (decimal degrees latitude)
28. decimalLongitude (decimal degrees longitude)
29. georeferenceSource: method used to determine latituide/longitude
30. notes: a detailed transcription of all written notes on each label,
31. relevantPublications,
32. boxNumber
33. boxLabel 



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References

Anderson, N.H. 1992. Influence of disturbance on insect communities in Pacific Northwest streams. 
Hydrobiologia, 248(1), 79-92. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008887 

Anderson, N.H., and B.P. Hansen. 1987. An Annotated Check List of Aquatic Insects Collected 
at Berry Creek Benton County, Oregon 1960-1984. Occas. Pub. No. 2, Systematic 
Entomology Lab, Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 
USA, 2:1-13. 

Claeson, S. M., C. J. LeRoy, D. S. Finn, R. H. Stancheva, and E. R. Wolfe. 2021. Variation in riparian 
and stream assemblages across the primary succession landscape of Mount St. Helens, 
U.S.A. Freshwater Biology 66:1002–1017.

Furnish, J.L. 1989. Factors affecting the growth, production and distribution of the stream snail Juga 
silicula (Gould). Doctoral Dissertation, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. 
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/gx41mm30f   

Fusté, L.A. 1981. Effects of the Mount St. Helens eruption on the benthic fauna of the Toutle 
River, Muddy River, and Pine Creek drainage basins, Washington. Circular 850-H. 
US Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Reston, VA, USA. https://doi.
org/10.3133/cir850H 

Merritt, R., and K. Cummins. 2008. An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America. 
Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co.

Meyerhoff, R.D. 1991. Post-eruption recovery and secondary production of grazing insects in 
two streams near Mt. St. Helens. Doctoral Dissertation, Oregon State University, 
Corvallis, OR, USA. https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_
dissertations/s7526h694 

Stewart, K., and B. Stark. 2002. Nymphs of North American stonefly genera (Plecoptera). Columbus, 
Ohio: Caddis Press.

Thorp, J., and A. Covich. 2001. Ecology and classification of North American freshwater 
invertebrates. San Diego: Academic Press. 

Wiggins, G. (1996). Larvae of the North American caddisfly genera (Trichoptera). Toronto: University 
of Toronto Press.


