RMSST Student Showcase By: Tiffany Adjmul and Sierra Turpin RMSST 2-11-14

Effect of Iron Fertilization Concentrations on Aquatic Ecosystems

Introduction With the world constantly advancing, humans are creating more and more pollution of all kinds without even realizing it. One of the major problems caused by CO2 pollution facing our oceans and other aquatic ecosystems today is ocean acidification.

Rationale One of the major problems facing our aquatic life today includes ocean acidification which is caused by the ever increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. One of the methods to reverse the problem is iron fertilization of the water used to promote growth of phytoplankton. While phytoplankton consumes much of the carbon, they potentially may also be consuming too much oxygen. This can have a negative effect on organisms as well. Testing with ghost shrimp is logical because they are impacted by both the ocean acidification and loss of oxygen. If we find that the iron fertilization does have a negative impact on ghost shrimp and the oxygen levels in the water, then we can save even more damage to the environment caused by humans.

Problem and Purpose Problem: was what is the effect of different concentrations of iron oxides on the health and viability of aquatic ecosystems? Purpose: To test the effect of different concentrations of iron oxides on the health and viability of aquatic ecosystems.

Background Information Predictions of ocean if acidification continues Studies the impacts of acidification on marine ecosystems Studies the impact of iron fertilization on phytoplankton growth. Studies impacts of acidification. Heart rate under microscope.

Progression of Ocean Acidification Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2007). Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

How Ocean Acidification Works Oceana.org

Hypotheses Part 1: If iron oxide is tested in water, then it will increase phytoplankton growth, and reduce oxygen levels in the water. Part 2: If low, medium, and high concentrations of phytoplankton and iron oxides are tested, then high concentrations of phytoplankton and iron oxide will result in the greatest decrease in ghost shrimp population.

Experimental Design Diagram 1 Part One: The effect of iron oxides ad phytoplankton on water clarity and oxygen levels. Hypothesis: If iron oxide is tested in water, then it will increase phytoplankton growth, and reduce oxygen levels in the water. Independent Variables: Phytoplankton in water – Control 1 Iron Oxide in Water – Control 2 Phytoplankton and Iron Oxides in Water 3 Trial Dependent Variable: absorbance (tested with spec 20) and oxygen and pH levels (tested by vernier probes) Constants: amount of water, length of time being tested, amount of iron oxide, temperature, amount of light.

Experimental Design Diagram 2 Part One: The Effect of Iron Fertilization Concentrations on Ghost Shrimp Hypothesis: If low, medium, and high concentrations of phytoplankton and iron oxides are tested, then high concentrations of phytoplankton and iron oxide will result in the greatest decrease in ghost shrimp population. Independent Variables: Iron Oxide in water – Control 1 Phytoplankton in water – Control 2 Phytoplankton and iron oxide in water low concentration Phytoplankton and iron oxide in water medium concentration Phytoplankton and iron oxide in water high concentration 3 Trial Dependent Variables: Ghost Shrimp Health measured under a microscope but recording heart rate, a health scale, and whether or not they have died. Constants: amount of water in the tank, tank size, amount of light, type of shrimp, water temperature, amount of shrimp in each tank, food.

Part 1 Procedures Set Up Vernier Materials Tanks Spec 20 Probes Analysis Phytoplankton Iron Oxide Spring Water 3 Tanks Vernier Probes Spec 20 Pipettes 3 gallons of spring water in each Add treatments Use the spec 20 to test the absorbance level of each tank. Use the vernier probes to test the amount of oxygen in each tank. Test over the course of 3-4 weeks. Record results each time you observe the absorbance and oxygen level.

Part 2 Procedures Set up tanks Add Treatments Materials Test Analysis Spec 20 Vernier Probes Iron Oxide Ghost Shrimp Phytoplankton 8 Tanks Spring Water Fish Food Flakes Sand Rocks Pipettes Microscope Add 3 gallons of spring water to each. Equal amounts of sand and rocks. Follow care sheet for adding ghost shrimp. Add treatments to each tank respectively. Ghost shrimp heart rate under microscope Using qualitative scale to measure ghost shrimp overall health. Test over the course of 3-4 weeks. Record data points frequently.

Data Analysis *Figure 1: In this graph of the average oxygen concentrations in each tank, it is clear to see the decrease in the amount of oxygen as the treatment goes from just phytoplankton to phytoplankton and iron oxide. *Figure 2: In this graph of the average pH levels for the separate tanks, it is clear to see that there is a decrease in the pH level of the tanks as they progress from just phytoplankton to phytoplankton and iron oxide maybe indicating that the iron oxide increased acidity.

Data Analysis *Figure 3: In this graph of the average absorbance levels in the separate tanks, there is no real trend in the data. *Figure 4: In this graph of the ghost shrimp final heart rates, it shows a trend that the heart rates increase for the most part as the level of treatment increase.

Conclusion: Part One Part one: The hypothesis was rejected since the only value significant was the pH variable (P=0.012), out of the three tested: oxygen concentrations (P=0.054), pH levels, and absorbance levels (P=0.464). Despite that it was rejected, part one still showed that the treatments did have some impact on the conditions of the water even if they weren’t significant when compared to each other. One thing for sure was that the treatments did impact the pH of the water making it slightly more acidic for each tank.

Conclusion: Part Two Part 2: the type of treatments (df=4, F=35.03, P=0.002) and as time progressed (df=1, F=30.90, P=0.005) were both significant the hypothesis supported. This means that the treatments applied to each tank not only caused significant difference from the initial heart rate to the final heart rate of each shrimp, but they were also significantly different from each other. Qualitative analysis also showed that the shrimp physically started to change

Limitations and Future Research Limitations: feasibility with testing on saltwater vs. freshwater. Future Research: different compounds used to reverse ocean acidification could be tested as well as on different aquatic organisms

Acknowledgements We would like to thank: Mr. Hendrix Mr. Bolen Rockdale Magnet Fund

Bibliography www.presentationhelper.co.uk Google images www.oceana.org Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2007). Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science, 318, 1737-1742. Retrieved from http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/harvell/Site/2007_files/HoeghGulberg07.pdf Doney, S. C. (2009). Ocean acidification: The other co2 problem. Annual Review of Marine Science, 1, 169-192. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/~lbuckley/GCE/uploads/Main/Doney et al 2009.pdf Fabry, V. J. (2008). Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65(3), 414-432. Retrieved from http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/65/3/414.full Smetacek, V. (2012). Deep carbon export from a southern ocean iron-fertilized diatom bloom. Nature, 487, 313-319. Retrieved from http://eprints.uni-kiel.de/14868/1/nature11229.pdf Ambrust, E. V. (2009). The life of diatoms in the world's ocean. Nature, 459, 185-192. Retrieved from ftp://84.237.21.152/pub_archive/lin/yu/evol/Armbrust_2009_The life of diatoms in the world oceans.pdf Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2007). Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification Fabry, V.J. (2008). Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. Bopp, L. (2003). Dust impact on marine biota and atmospheric CO2 Anthony, K.R.N. (2008). Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders. Martin, J.M. Heart Rate Response to Induced Stimuli in Freshwater Shrimp

Accomplishments

Accomplishments Vice President of Magnet Ambassador Program Principal’s List Made a deal on class version of Shark Tank.

Accomplishments Continued Entered 10 studios ;D International Club Built a roller coater and designed a car

Effect of Iron Fertilization Concentrations on Aquatic Ecosystems Questions?