Tardigrades, rotifers, and nematodes are found all over the world and in every type of environment on land and in water. Since these microorganisms are too small to walk or fly to these new environments, they must have traveled by some other mechanism, such as rainwater.

To answer this question, our team sampled two populations of lichen before a rainfall, one from six feet above the base of the tree and the other at the base of the tree for sixteen trees and a total of thirty-two samples. In the process, these microorganisms will go into anhydrobiosis. We will steep the samples in water to bring them back to their active state and count how many individuals of each species are in the population. We will then repeat the process after a decent rainfall to see if rainwater aids in the dispersal of these species and if it does, we will look to see if one species more easily dispersed than the other.

Summary: Our project looked at the counts of tardigrades,nematodes, and rotifers before and after a rainfall event. We collected samples of lichen off 16 different trees. We collected two samples from each tree, one at a high measurement (6ft) up on the tree and one at a low measurement(base) of tree. This sample collection method allowed us to see the dispersal/ lack of dispersal for the three species we were studying. We used a microscope to locate the three species within the samples and sorted them out from the sample as they were found. Finally, we used a Chi- squared goodness of fit test analyze our data and draw a conclusion. Main Finding: Rain water is a great dispersal method for tardigrades, but not nematodes and rotifers.