Macroinvertebrates are organisms that live underwater in our streams and rivers, lack a backbone, and can be seen by the naked eye. One of the ways that the scientific community and environmental agencies measure water quality is by looking at the types of organisms living in the water. Macroinvertebrates living in lakes, streams, and rivers can tell us whether the water has very high level of pollution or very little pollution because they tend to be very sensitive to water pollution.
Examples of aquatic macroinvertebrates include insects in their larval or nymph form, crayfish, clams, snails, and worms. They tend to live part or most of their life cycle attached to submerged rocks, logs, and vegetation. In this Kaleideum At Home video, Christy takes on a creek tour to find macroinvertebrates and check out the water quality.
Check out this mothernatured.com blog for more informaton on macroinvertebrates.
We want to see any macroinvertebrates you find in creeks or rivers neaer you! Take a picture or video and tag us on Facebook or Instagram!
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