In the
last couple weeks my Biology laboratory was about Eutrophication.
We did an experiment to see
the
effects of nutrient enrichment on algae growth in the Rio Salado River and
Encanto Park Lake water systems were examined in this experiment. Different
concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus individually and nitrogen and
phosphorus together were added to the Rio Salado River and to Encanto Park Lake
water. In order to facilitate the growth of algae, samples were kept in the
incubator for two weeks. Then, the growth in each sample was measured by using the Algal Growth Comparator. Additions of nitrogen in various
concentrations had a moderate effect on algal growth in the Rio Salado River
water and in Encanto Park Lake water. Algal growth was significantly raised
when the concentration of phosphorus was increased in both water systems. The
results of testing the effects of added nitrogen and phosphorus indicates that
an increased concentration of nutrients increases algal growth.
Last week, when I was checking my test tubes to measure the amount of
algae growth I saw that I have some tiny guests in two of my test tubes. It was
very interesting to see some small creatures swim in my test tubes. I asked
Mr.Schampel and Matt to keep my test tubes because I really wanted to know what
they are and how they appear in my test tubes. The first thing that I mention
was my little creatures appeared in just two test tubes of my 18 test tubes. One
of them contains 1mL of phosphorus and other one has 100 µ L of a combined Nitrogen
and phosphorus. These two test tubes have a high amount of algae growth because
of high quantity of Nitrogen and phosphorus that was added to them. On Friday,
I place a drop of water which contains one of the creatures into the Concave
microscope slides to identify it under a microscope. I looked for it around 45
minutes to be able to take a picture of it.
I was able to identify the order of my little creatures, Cladocera. According to the Wikipedia, Cladocera is an order of small
crustaceans commonly called water fleas. Around 620 species have been
recognised so far, with many more undescribed. They are ubiquitous in inland
aquatic habitats, but rare in the oceans. Most are 0.2–6.0 mm (0.0079–0.24 in)
long, with a down-turned head, and a carapace covering the apparently
unsegmented thorax and abdomen. There is a single median compound eye. Most
species show cyclical parthenogenesis, where asexual reproduction is
occasionally supplemented by sexual reproduction, which produces resting eggs
that allow the species to survive harsh conditions and disperse to distant
habitats. I couldn’t recognize family and Genus of them because I took a picture
of it from top. Mr.Schampel told me that I should take a picture from sideways
to be able to identify it because different species of this order has a different
hand position.
While I was looking for Cladocera under
a microscope, I discovered lots of interesting creatures inside of just a drop
of water. I found out different types of Algae and other living creatures.
 |
| Several type of Algae |
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| Two different kind of living creatures |
