Hi, I am trying to do a project on the effect of plant types on reduction dead zones in the water. I have researched that the chesapeake bay has a lot dead zones and dead zones are areas that have a really low amount of dissolved oxygen in the water and this is caused by fertilizer runoff which stimulates the growth of algae so I looked at three different plants to try to found out which one produced the most oxygen. I feel like this is a good idea but I need help executing it. If you could please help me on this, that would be most appreciated.
Thank You!
The effect of plant type on reduction of dead zones in water
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, MadelineB, Moderators
Re: The effect of plant type on reduction of dead zones in water
Hello!
This sounds like an excellent project idea – reduction dead zones are a pressing consequence of wastewater pollution and definitely deserve more research.
It seems like you want to gear your project toward identifying aquatic plants that can alleviate the hypoxic (reduced oxygen levels) nature of dead zones by oxygenating water. Excellent job on already identifying the three plants you want to test!
For your experimental setup, I propose using three different containers to house the three plant species you want to test; cultivate the plants in an equal amount of saltwater to simulate aquatic conditions – perhaps even hypoxic water from the Chesapeake Bay, if it is feasible for you to collect samples, for highest applicability to your issue of interest. If you are unable to collect samples directly from Chesapeake waters, you can reproduce the salt concentrations using the following data from the Chesapeake Bay Program: https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/ ... 00.5%20ppt.
Scientists measure dissolved oxygen content in water using specialized probes that count the number of oxygen molecules in the sample. However, more cost-effective metrics for your project can be 1) manually counting bubbles, 2) using the flotation of lightweight paper disks to the surface of the solution as a proxy for oxygen content, or 3) using the Audus apparatus (which can be constructed from standard household items; most recommended for your project). I encourage you to look into metrics for measuring the rate of photosynthesis in your background research as a guideline for your data collection! I suggest starting with the Photosynthesis Lab in the AP Biology curriculum or the bubbling pondweed experiment.
All the best with your project, and please let us know if you have more questions!
Anika
This sounds like an excellent project idea – reduction dead zones are a pressing consequence of wastewater pollution and definitely deserve more research.
It seems like you want to gear your project toward identifying aquatic plants that can alleviate the hypoxic (reduced oxygen levels) nature of dead zones by oxygenating water. Excellent job on already identifying the three plants you want to test!
For your experimental setup, I propose using three different containers to house the three plant species you want to test; cultivate the plants in an equal amount of saltwater to simulate aquatic conditions – perhaps even hypoxic water from the Chesapeake Bay, if it is feasible for you to collect samples, for highest applicability to your issue of interest. If you are unable to collect samples directly from Chesapeake waters, you can reproduce the salt concentrations using the following data from the Chesapeake Bay Program: https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/ ... 00.5%20ppt.
Scientists measure dissolved oxygen content in water using specialized probes that count the number of oxygen molecules in the sample. However, more cost-effective metrics for your project can be 1) manually counting bubbles, 2) using the flotation of lightweight paper disks to the surface of the solution as a proxy for oxygen content, or 3) using the Audus apparatus (which can be constructed from standard household items; most recommended for your project). I encourage you to look into metrics for measuring the rate of photosynthesis in your background research as a guideline for your data collection! I suggest starting with the Photosynthesis Lab in the AP Biology curriculum or the bubbling pondweed experiment.
All the best with your project, and please let us know if you have more questions!
Anika