Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am conducting an independent field research project studying how the amount of algae in lake water affects the biodiversity. I want to know if anyone has any suggestions of certain experiments to carry out to answer this question. Any tips of material/equipment advice will be helpful. Thank you!

Hello allypru,
This is a fascinating and important topic.

I think you will find a lot of ideas by searching the internet.

I did a quick search using the phrase "does the amount of algae in lake water affect biodiversity."

Here are a couple of links which look helpful:

http://www.wheatleyriver.ca/current-pro ... ick-study/

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream ... sequence=1

And here is a project in the Science Buddies Project Guide:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p054.shtml

Let us know if you have more questions!

How about starting with a simple experiment?
1. Collect water samples into a tube or open/loosely capped bottle (for oxygen flow to prevent organisms from dying) from lakes with different amount of algae. Or you can collect samples from the same lake over time as it get more algae
2. Observe the samples under a microscope (I will do this soon after sampling)
3. Count the different types and number of organisms in the samples

Good luck!

-Sally Kuzniewski

Hi there,

I agree with the other experts that this is a fascinating topic. One thing I'd like to add is that it would be good to think about how you're going to quantify algae levels and the level of biodiversity in these samples that you've obtained from different lakes. Do you have any ideas of how you're going to go about doing that? If you have more questions when you start planning your experiments, feel free to write back and we'd love to help you brainstorm.

Connie