Eutrophication Essay

Methodology: The water samples will be collected utilizing sterile plastic water bottles from Lake Tarpon. The location the samples will be collected from is Anderson Park, by the boat docks, located at 39669 U.S. 19, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689. The water samples will be brought to Tarpon Springs High School to be tested, located at 1411 Gulf Rd, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689. The phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen levels will be tested utilizing various LaMotte water testing kits,

The health of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay was found based on Biological (macroinvertebrates and wildlife) and Chemicals characteristics (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, etc.) as well as physical observations (amount of forested buffers, wetlands, etc.) Overall it was concluded that the health of the water was good to excellent. What was found was that many of the macroinvertebrates found in the water were sensitive or facultative, meaning the water quality was good enough for them to live in. Also, the level of ph, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and turbidity showed that the water quality was good. Finally, while we were canoeing down the Susquehanna River, observations were made on the land

Government agencies carefully monitor water quality and its effect on wetlands (Reference: Environment Protection Agency Wetland Report EPA 832-R-93-005). Of particular concern is the concentration of nitrogen in water draining from fertilized lands. Too much nitrogen can kill fish and wildlife. Twenty-eight samples of water were taken at random from a lake. The nitrogen concentration (milligrams of nitrogen per liter of water) was determined for each sample. The variable in this information is nitrogen concentration (mg nitrogen/l water).

Environmental scanning can be viewed as a way of acquiring information about outside events that can aid organizations in first identifying potential trends, then interpreting them

Even though, fertilizers are needed to supply essential nutrients to the growth of plants; an excess of them is one of the major issues contributing to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Fertilizers are mainly composed of two elements: nitrogen and phosphorus.(4) Throughout the years, millions of pounds of this nutrients are applied all around the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; everything not absorbed by the soil or taken up by plants eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay through storm-water runoff. This nutrients end up creating algae blooms in the water, which reduce the amount of sunlight available to underwater grasses; not allowing plants to photosynthesize and produce the food they need to survive. Algae then decomposes creating dead zones killing fish and other species since oxygen is needed for any organism to live. (5)

Overall, the more macroinvertebrates in the water, the healthier the stream. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic water is. It is measured on a scale from 0-14. 0 is the most acidic, 14 is the most basic, and 7 is neutral. It is the measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxide ions in the water. Acidic water has more hydrogen ions, and basic water has more hydroxide ions. When water’s pH is around neutral (7), that is a suitable and healthy living environment for fish, and indicates a healthy stream. If the water is too acidic or too basic, it can be harmful to the aquatic life. Dissolved oxygen is a measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in the water. As the amount of dissolved oxygen drops below normal levels in water bodies, the water quality is harmed and creatures begin to die off as a result of eutrophication. The higher the level of dissolved oxygen, the healthier the stream. When there is a lot of dissolved oxygen present it makes for a safe environment for fish to live and reproduce. Having all this healthy fish can provide us with food, so overall the more dissolved oxygen, the better. Nitrates are a compound found in fertilizers that is used to help plants grow. It is what is given off as a result of the use of nitrogen in water. The organisms in the soil eat the nitrates and it helps the metabolism and the health of organisms. Plants, such as Algae use nitrates as a source

Phosphorus, “...the primary algae-feeding nutrient in Lake Erie, and contributed to the largest algae bloom in history last year” (McCarty, para. 3), is a key factor in how

To assess and analysis the long term trends and seasonal trends of Phosphorus in relation to the lakes system within the catchments.

What negative ecological effects might occur as a result of altering the phosphorus cycle? Include in your explanation how this effect could be measured. Potential impacts on things such as the algal community can be examined based on thermal preference as well as the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. If there was additional phosphorous from the LSC, it would slightly decrease this ratio and may favor the growth of nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae.

Eutrophication is when there is too much nutrients in the water, as stated above. Eutrophication can come from farmers fertilizing their fields and some detergents. We tested for phosphates, salts or ester of phosphatidic acid. We also tested for nitrates, salts or ester of nitric acid. The more the phosphates and nitrates, the more eutrophication is present in the stream. We tested for dissolved oxygen, the amount of oxygen in the water, as well. We found found a very low level of phosphates with an average of 0.1 parts per million (ppm). We also found a very low level of nitrates with an average of 0.9 ppm. The dissolved oxygen level was 9.8 ppm. The higher the velocity of the water, the more dissolved oxygen it will contain. All of these measurements are very good and show that there is little or no eutrophication in the

Several species and organisms rely on water to survive. Some organisms use it as a source to drink and others uses water as their living environment. This experiment is to calculate many aspects of the water that surrounds Corpus Christi. Water is the key to life on Earth and thus why water is so important. According to the Lab Report water quality is the quality of water and if it is considered acceptable drinking water. Water quality consist of its chemical, physical and biological characteristics. These properties can be studied through pH testing, nitrogen testing, Phosphorous testing and many other useful ways. Water quality is important because it allows scientist to identify if the water is in a good condition to drink or sustain life overall and it dramatically effects how healthy it is. The objective of this lab was to experiment if the water quality around the Corpus Christi is a reliable source of water for organisms and to reach an understanding of the water quality of the water surrounding Corpus Christi.

When talking about nutrient content and nutrient type in bodies of water (especially lakes), three terms help identify these types of bodies of water- oligotropy, eutropy, and dystrophy. Eutropy refers to the probably the best possible condition for a body of water, because this type of body of water has many nutrients available to it (often in the form of silt) such as phosphorous. These bodies of water are usually near farms or forests and are thriving with life. Algae is a common type of organism that grows in eutropy’s, but can serve as a problem for the survival of other species. Oligotropy is basically the opposite of eutropy condition wise. Oligotropic bodies of water usually have a small amount of organic matter, few nutrients, and especially lack phosphorous. These water bodies are often near terrestrial ecosystems. Dystrophy refers to the condition in bodies of water that have an abundance of organic matter- so much so that the water is often brown. These bodies of water are often near bogs. Lakes can gain these types of nutrients through things such as runoff that bring soil nutrients into the water;

The purpose of this experiment is to understand the effects of nutrient enrichment and eutrophication, using samples of water from Rio Salado and Encanto Park. The samples will contain different concentration levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and nitrogen and phosphorous combined and the impact it has on algae growth. The results recorded showed that the nitrogen concentration levels had a little change, phosphorous levels had a higher change and phosphorous and nitrogen combined had a significantly higher change, resulting in higher algae growth. The results showed that phosphorous indeed is a limiting nutrient in algae growth, but to achieve the highest growth rate, both nitrogen and phosphorous need to be combined.

The graph indicates that between 1980 and 1985 there was a rapid increase in the mean proportions of chlorophyll in phytoplankton and other algae micro organisms. 1986 brought about nutrient

At the start of the work important physico- chemical and biological parameters were measured to know the present scenario of the lake. Among physico- chemical parameters the water temperature, transparency, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, total alkalinity, pH, nitrate and phosphate were taken into consideration while in biotic factors, the qualitative and quantitative estimation of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fishes was made. The water temperature varied from 10.0 0C in January, 2007 to 23.4 0C in June, 2011. The Secchy transparency ranged between 35.0 cm during January 2007 and 410 cm during December, 2011. The total dissolved solids varied between 160 mg/ l in April, 2007 and 536 mg/ l in June, 2008. The dissolved oxygen concentration at water surface varied from 3.0 mg/ l during January, 2007 to 12.5 mg/ l during May, 2009 throughout the experiment period. The total alkalinity of lake water was found between 102 mg/ l during January, 2008 and 240 mg/ l during June, 2011. The pH of lake water varied from 6.9 in April, 2008 to 9.8 July, 2011. The nitrate was found between 0.12 mg/l