Aquatic Ecology
Location
CoLab
Start Date
3-5-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
3-5-2019 2:45 PM
Document Type
Poster
Description
For this aquatic ecology project, biodiversity and aquatic ecology were studied via a water sample collected from a local water source. The water sample was collected from a small creek at Turkey Creek Streamway Park Trail. At this location, the creek comes out from a residential area and drains out to a larger stream via a waterfall. The collection came from the side of the stream, near mounds of dirt, moss, and dead foliage. Different organisms living in the water sample, both macroscopic and microscopic, were carefully observed and documented using a light microscope. The water sample was contained in a sample jar on a window sill in a biology classroom. Data collection is ongoing, but thus far, copious amounts of organisms in the class Bacillariophyceae (diatoms), and smaller amounts of consumers in the phylum Ciliophora (ciliophorans) have been observed. Diatoms are unicellular organisms characterized by polymerized silica cell walls called frustules, and they are capable of photosynthesis, making them autotrophic producers. Ciliophorans are ciliated unicellular organisms that will eat other organisms to acquire the energy to live, making them heterotrophic consumers. Aquatic biodiversity was measured with the Shannon Diversity Index, and results were compared with class averages and other students’ samples. These results will be presented and related back to observations of environmental variables at the collection site.
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Aquatic Ecology
CoLab
For this aquatic ecology project, biodiversity and aquatic ecology were studied via a water sample collected from a local water source. The water sample was collected from a small creek at Turkey Creek Streamway Park Trail. At this location, the creek comes out from a residential area and drains out to a larger stream via a waterfall. The collection came from the side of the stream, near mounds of dirt, moss, and dead foliage. Different organisms living in the water sample, both macroscopic and microscopic, were carefully observed and documented using a light microscope. The water sample was contained in a sample jar on a window sill in a biology classroom. Data collection is ongoing, but thus far, copious amounts of organisms in the class Bacillariophyceae (diatoms), and smaller amounts of consumers in the phylum Ciliophora (ciliophorans) have been observed. Diatoms are unicellular organisms characterized by polymerized silica cell walls called frustules, and they are capable of photosynthesis, making them autotrophic producers. Ciliophorans are ciliated unicellular organisms that will eat other organisms to acquire the energy to live, making them heterotrophic consumers. Aquatic biodiversity was measured with the Shannon Diversity Index, and results were compared with class averages and other students’ samples. These results will be presented and related back to observations of environmental variables at the collection site.
Comments
The faculty supervisor for this project was Nancy Holcroft, Biology.