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Project Summary

Difficulty  2 
Time required Average (about one week)
Prerequisites This project will require approval from the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) if you use fish or any other vertebrate animal in your experiment.
Material Availability Readily available
Cost Low ($20 - $50)
Safety This project requires adult supervision when handling and measuring liquid fertilizer.

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Abstract

Did you know that when you use fertilizer in your garden, it can eventually reach a lake, stream, or pond? There are many different chemicals present in fertilizers. How will they affect the aquatic organisms in the ecosystem?

Objective

In this experiment you will test the effects of liquid fertilizer on an aquatic environment containing small aquatic animals and plants.

Introduction

Fertilizers are chemicals that are added to the soil to increase the growth of plants in yards, gardens, or large agricultural facilities. The effect on crops can be increased growth, but fertilizers can have a negative impact on surrounding organisms in the soil.

When a heavily fertilized field is irrigated, the water can cause the chemicals present in the fertilizer to infiltrate the ground water system. This contaminated ground water can then make its way into a nearby pond, stream, or lake. What happens to the aquatic organisms that are present in the environment when chemical fertilizers are present?

In this experiment you will test the effect of liquid fertilizer on an aquatic environment. Each aquatic environment will be a mixture of small aquatic plants and animals. By adding different brands of fertilizer, you can test how they affect the environment. Which fertilizers are the best choice for the environment?

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

To do this type of experiment you should know what the following terms mean. Have an adult help you search the internet, or take you to your local library to find out more!

Questions

Bibliography

Materials and Equipment

Experimental Procedure

  1. Rinse each container thoroughly with water. Do not use soap because it can coat the plastic container and may be harmful to the organisms in your experiment. Label each container with a permanent marker.
  2. Prepare the solutions for each container according to the data table below, one container for each experimental group. Use bottled water, not tap water, because it may contain harmful chemicals like chlorine or chloramine.

    Brand of Fertilizer Water Fertilizer Total Volume pH Observations
      800 mL 200 mL 1000 mL    
      800 mL 200 mL 1000 mL    
      800 mL 200 mL 1000 mL    

  3. Check the pH of each container with your pH test strips and record the data in your data table.
  4. Evenly distribute the organisms into each container, being sure to add a mixture of plants (algae, duckweed, elodea) and animals (aquatic worms, snails, and small crustaceans). Write down the number of each type of organism you are adding to the containers. For example, "I added 10 snails,10 worms, and 20 duckweed plants to each container."
  5. Observe the animals and write down observations in the data table. Continue your observations for a few hours, or overnight if necessary.
  6. For each observation, count the number of organisms that are still alive for each different plant or animal. This is called a viability assay, because you are counting the number of things that are viable, or still living. For example, "At 3 PM there were 5 living snails, 2 living worms, and 7 living duckweed plants."
  7. Make a graph of your results. On the left side (Y-axis) of the graph, make a viability scale indicating the number of living organisms of each type. On the bottom (X-axis) of the graph write the different brand names of the fertilizer. Then make a bar for each type of organism in your study. Did they respond similarly or differently to the fertilizers in your environments? Which products are the least toxic?

Variations

Credits

Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies


Last edit date: 2006-10-04 11:30:00


Career Focus

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring careers in Environmental Science.

Natural Sciences Manager
Some of the biggest questions in science—like how to cure cancers or how to control global warming—require large teams of scientists to answer. Natural sciences managers work to coordinate and direct the research of these teams to ensure collaboration among the scientists and effective use of equipment and resources.
  Park Ranger
Park rangers are the law enforcement officials of our state and national parks. They protect and preserve parklands, keeping park resources safe from people who might try to damage them, deliberately or through neglect, and keeping people safe from dangers within the park. To achieve this goal, park rangers work in a wide variety of positions, including education and interpretation for park visitors, emergency dispatch, firefighting, maintenance, law enforcement, search and rescue, and administration. There is a large global shortage of park rangers in developing countries.




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