A Macroinvertebrate a Day Keeps the Negativity Away

Today's blog post is brought to you by one of our students, Carlia! She will be sharing about our adventures surveying macroinvertebrates in Monteverde! 

After the daily fulfillment of rice, beans, and a hearty conversation with tablemates, off we went to see what lies beyond (or underneath) the roaring rivers of Monteverde, Costa Rica. A quick talk about how to collect these little organisms that live within the water was all we needed before excitement and curiosity had us sliding down rocks and ducking under tree branches to find the perfect specimens. Hiking back up the trail to campus, a large variety of tiny, aquatic macroinvertebrates traveled with us. 

We put them under the microscope for a fun and engaging examination to identify which families each of them belonged to. The competitive nature had us racing once more to see who could accurately identify the invertebrate first, even though there was no reward other than imaginary clout. The conversation began with learning different characteristics of the organisms such as rounded gills and enlarged heads.  Once we Identified the specimens we were able to shift to understanding the bigger picture of the environment in which these macroinvertebrates lived, such as pollutant factors, water quality, and pH levels. The activity itself was educational both in learning about the macroinvertebrates' ecological biodiversity and learning more about what bonded us together as a cohesive group. Whether it was learning about who to partner up with to conduct our data, finding new people to sit with in the classroom, or asking something new about someone, it was a day of new experiences and learning opportunities that had us racing for answers nonetheless.