Download Utilizing Abiotic and Biotic Data to Assess Water Quality

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Utilizing Abiotic and Biotic Data to Assess Water Quality
Your lab team will analyze a “water sample” collected from three of four possible
locations. Your objectives are to
 match the water sample with location based on the combination of abiotic and
biotic factors present, and
 infer what human or natural activities are contributing to the water quality
measures for each location.
Samples include dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, a proxy for pH, a statement of
turbidity at the time of sample collection, and representative macroinvertebrate
organisms.
Dissolved oxygen is represented by blue pop beads. 1 bead = 1ppm
Nitrates are represented by pink pop beads. 1 bead = 0.5ppm
Phosphates are represented by red pop beads. 1 bead = 0.5ppm
pH is represented by green pop beads. 1 bead = 0.5 on the pH scale
Additional resources include:
 Pondwatchers Field Guide
 Aquatic Chemistry Reference Sheet
 Quick Reference Guide to Aquatic Invertebrates
 Your class and reading notes on water quality
Procedure:
1. Record your data for each water body sample, A-C in your lab notebooks. Include all
the abiotic parameters and macroinvertebrates (use field guides to find the names)
2. With your team discuss which location was the likely source for each water sample.
Location descriptions:
 A slow-flowing stream in the suburbs of Bismarck, ND. The stream floor is
covered in deep sediments.
 A moderately-flowing stream in a high elevation meadow in the Rocky Mountain
wilderness. The meadow has a constantly blowing breeze and the stream runs
over exposed limestone bedrock.
 A pond bordering a free-range cattle ranch and a large-scale corn farm in Iowa.
 A lake in West Virginia fed by a stream that runs down from mountains heavily
impacted by coal mining.
3. In a separate paragraph for each water sample:
1. explain your reasoning for matching the sample to a specific location. Be sure
to discuss each water quality parameter, abiotic and biotic; and
2. make inferences about what human or natural activities have contributed to the
water quality measures observed.