Definitions
What is a watershed?
A watershed is the area of land that funnels surface water and ground water into a river, stream, or other body of water. One way to understand how a watershed functions is to compare it to a bathtub. When water falls onto the floor or the sides of the tub, it flows toward the drain because of gravity. This basic concept can be applied to an area of land. Precipitation, such as rain and snow, falls on the land and either infiltrates through the soil into underground water or flows over land. In both cases, gravity will cause the water to drain to the lowest point (e.g., a river, stream, or lake).
What are macroinvertebrates?
Macroinvertebrates are organisms without backbones, visible without a microscope. Aquatic macroinvertebrates live on, under, and around rocks and sediment on the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and streams.