Aquatic Plankton Project Proposal Megan Barnard, Brianna LaFratta, Catherine Swinksy, and Kelly Tarmon

Background

Background

Background Phytoplankton

Background Wolkowicz, G. S., and Y. Yaun. 2015. Effect of light on the growth of non-nitrogen-fixing and nitrogen-fixing phytoplankton in an aquatic system. Mathematical Biology 72:1663–1692.

Research Questions Hypothesis Does sunlight affect the abundance of aquatic plankton? Hypothesis It is hypothesized that there will be a higher amount of aquatic plankton in the area with sunlight than the area in the shade.

Proposed Methods The site we chose to gather our sample is a retainment pond near Buffalo creek. Extraction will be from two different locations in the pond. The first spot will be in shaded area. The second spot will be in a sunny area. Possibly thinking of observing over two days to finalize our speculations on the weather patterns for the pond.

Proposed Methods We will collect equal amounts of water. Once the plankton is collected, we will keep them in separate specimen containers. Next, we will count and interpret our findings under a microscope to collect data. Data collection and interpretation: Temperature of water, the number of plankton, what type of plankton are found, how many plankton are found, etc.

Materials Plankton Net

Materials Microscope and Slides Dissolved Oxygen Meter

Timeline -Gather information on Aquatic Plankton -Take Samples at the retainment pond near buffalo creek -Gather all Data(make figures, count plankton etc.) -Write a formal research presentation to present -Then we will write a final written lab report