Draft 1: Our Water World

Abstract:
The purpose of this experiment is to find where aquatic life is most abundant by measuring the depth, temperature, area, flow and bio-diversity in the stream. We predict that there will be more aquatic insects in areas that are shallow and calm as opposed to the other three areas. While we feel more other aquatic life will be found in deep calm water.

Introduction:

In our water world we will be testing the diversity of aquatic life in various sections of the creek. We began considering this idea on our nature walk to Pfeffer Park when we saw that portions of the stream had a variety of aquatic life. The question arose, why was there a greater variety and amount of aquatic life in certain parts of the stream?" Our first instinct was that the purity of the water had to do with the amount and variety of life. We planned on testing the purity of the water by testing the phosphate and pH levels in the water. We soon realized that this method of testing would not work. There were limestone sediments in the stream that naturally purified the water and regulated the pH levels. With this mind we decided to test other causes of diversity in the stream. Pollution, could be another factor, but then we soon realized that not only did we not have the advanced experimentation equipment but also our knowledge of pollution was inadequate. Once we received some feedback and guidance from our teacher, we modified our question. Do temperature, depth, and water flow have an affect on the amount and diversity of aquatic life in the Pfeffer Park stream? We were soon on our way to find out!
The question suddenly arose, "how in any way would this project affect our lives?" After pondering for a while, we decided that through this project we would learn how to tie in the themes of diversity in the creek to the themes of diversity in society. As architecture majors we could apply this concept to our intended profession. We would be able to better investigate the environmental surroundings of the houses we intend to build to ensure the safety and stability for the owners.

For our intended microbiology major this project will provide her a way of being able to interpret information taken from a field of study. In turn this will enable her to gain experience in conducting an actual field study. This will provide experience in data research and the analysis of the an original experiment.

Methods:
We will begin our studies by mapping out four sections of the creek. The four test sights will include one a still deep-water sight, a rushing deep-water sight, a still shallow water sight, and a rushing shallow water sight. All areas will be a three-foot cross section of the stream. We will use a tape measure to measure the width of the stream and the three-foot cross section. Also we will be measuring the depth of the stream in our four test sights using a water safe ruler. We will measure the temperature of the water using a mercury thermometer in degrees Celsius.

In order to test the flow of the stream we will take a buoyant object and time how long it takes for the object to travel across the three-foot cross section. We will do this using a stopwatch measuring to the one-hundredth of a second.

We will test the variety of aquatic insects by using a field identification reference chart, which will allow us to identify different types of insects by their appearance and stage in their life cycle. A few insects we will be searching for include the stonefly nymph, adlerfly larvae, dobsonfly larvae, snipe fly larvae, caddisfly larvae, midge larvae, and the blood worm midge larvae. We will also look for minnows, tadpoles, crawfish and any other type of fish. We will also account for any snakes and spiders found in or around the four areas. Our testing will be conducted over a six-week period, each site being tested once a week.

After all the results are taken we will determine whether the conditions do in fact affect the diversity and abundance of aquatic life. This will enable us to find out if certain areas provide a more adequate and stable environment for different kinds of aquatic life. (Data sheets follow the references.)

References:
1.) Distribution of aquatic plants in relation to environmental factors in the Nile Delta Aquatic
Botany, Volume: 56, Issue: 1
Khedr, Abdel Hamid A.; El-Demerdash, Mohamed A., pp. 75-86, February 1997
Score: 65. Article Full-text PDF (643 KB)
http://journals.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=03043770&issue=v56i1-&article=75_doapirefitnd_otrbamat&form=pdf

2.) Patterns and governing forces in aquatic microbial communities Aquatic Ecology, Volume: 32,
Issue: 1
Nold, Stephen C.; Zwart, Gabriel, pp. 17-35, January, 1, 1998
Score: 93. Article Full-text PDF (236 KB)
http://journals.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=13862588&issue=v32i1-&article=17_pagfiamc_rpemttit&form=pdf

3.) Classification of a Malaysian river using biological indices: a preliminary attempt The
Environmentalist, Volume: 17, Issue: 2
YAP , SIAW-YANG, pp. 79-86, January, 1, 1997
Score: 84. Article Full-text PDF (2.39 MB)
http://journals.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=02511088&issue=v17i0002&article=79_coamrubiapa_aaioccia&form=pdf

4.) Temporary ponds and their invertebrate communities Aquatic Conservation: Marine and
Freshwater Ecosystems, Volume: 7, Issue: 2
Williams, D. Dudley, pp. 105 - 117, June 1997
Score: 67. Article Full-text PDF (246 KB)
http://journals.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=10990755&issue=v7i2-&article=105_tpatic_wteardpo&form=pdf

5.) Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing in aquatic botany: methodological
aspects Aquatic Botany, Volume: 58, Issue: 3-4
Caloz, R.; Collet, C., pp. 209-228, October 1997
Score: 47. Article Full-text PDF (1.29 MB)
http://journals.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/sciserv.pl?collection=journals&journal=03043770&issue=v58i3-4&article=209_gisarsiabma_immtacms&form=pdf

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Data Sheets:

Observations
Discription of sites weekly

Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five
Test Site One
Test Site Two
Test Site Three
Test Site Four
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Observations
Aquatic Insects found in weekly tests

Week On Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five
Test Site One
Test Site Two
Test Site Three
Test Site Four

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Observations
Other Aquatic life found in weekly tests

Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five
Test Site One
Test Site Two
Test Site Three
Test Site Four
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