Recent work has show that interstitial invertebrates are more important
to nutrient and organic matter processing than was once thought (Marshall et al. 2004). Though they may only make a small contribution to the biomass of an area, their presence or absence can have an impact on how suitable an environment is to other organisms. Understanding what physical factors affect the distribution of interstitial invertebrates can help us better understand their role in a community.  With this in mind, my experiment was designed to determine the distribution of interstitial invertebrates in intertidal areas based on several factors. Collections were made at four different sites, three sandy beaches and one salt marsh. At two of the beaches sediment collections were made based on the vertical area of the beach. At the salt marsh and other beach core samples were taken based on the vertical depth into the sediment. Significant variation was found in the invertebrate distribution in relation to collection site. This could be due to various physical factors including the large difference noted in sediment coarseness.