Bio 100 Carley Henry Pond Water Paper

Pond Water Paper
Carley Henry
A . Gamble
BIO 100
December 8, 2018
Abstract
As a research project, students were given jars to fill with pond water. The bottom of the
jar had to have 1 to 2 inches of muck and two dead leaves. My pond of choice was Millpond
Park in Mt.Pleasant. For about five weeks each individual recorded their own qualitative data,
quantitative data, and microscopic observations. Before the pond water project was complete we
swabbed a sample from our water and put it onto nutrient and potato agar petri dishes. After that,
we observed the microbial growth.
What is a pond?
A pond is a body of water that is shallow enough to support rooted plants (All about
ponds...). A pond is a small body of standing water, usually smaller than a lake. A pond is home
to smaller aquatic beings and can grow plants all across due to it being shallow. A pond is home
to many water organisms that can be seen with the naked eye or with a microscope. Chemical
properties of a pond relate to the hardness of the water, nitrate levels, alkalinity, and pH.
Physical features of a pond are water color, water smell, physical appearances, and suspended
solids. Organismal features of a pond are what living creatures that are found in a pond or in a
sample of a pond.
Materials & Methods

The materials used for this project started with a 16oz mason jar. In the jar, there was 1-2
inches of muck from the pond, two dead leafs, and the remainder of the jar was the pond water.
In class, we labeled the jars with a piece of tape with our names on it, the instructors name, and
the class. We also taped a pipette to the side, this was used to catch things for microscopic
observation. While looking for qualitative observations, we observed water color, water smell, if
you can see your fingers through the jar, and any physical changes. To observe the water color, I
looked in the jar to determine if it was clear, yellow, or brown. While observing the smell, I took
the lid off and wafted the air towards my nose, making sure nothing could fly at me. While
taking quantitative observations, I tested for the temperature of the water by putting a
thermometer in the pond sample holding the end above the muck. I tested the pH by places a 5-
in-1 microbe-lift test strip in the sample for 2 seconds, I also did this to test the alkalinity,
hardness, nitrite, and nitrate. When making microscopic observations, I used the pipette to draw
out whatever I could, I then placed the water sample on a slide. I then wrote down my
observations and repeated to do so over the course of 5 weeks. During week four, we were given
two petri dishes, one with potato agar and another with nutrient agar. We then swabbed a sample
from our pond water and added it to the petri dishes and collected observations.
Results
Data Summary
Qualitative Data of Pond Water
Water Water Suspended Physical Tem pH Tota Total Ni Ni
Color Smell Solids Appearance perat l Hardn trit tra
ure Alk ess es te
(Cels alini (P s
ius) ty P (P
M P
) M
)
Week 1 Clear None Clear Clear, still 12 8.5 720 1000 0 0
Week 2 Yellow Musty Opaque Yellow, film 21 8 300 1000 0 0

on top of
water
Week 3 Yellow Musty Opaque Algae on 23 8.5 180 300 0 0

/ surface, dirty
Brown water
Week 4 Yellow None Clear Green plant 24 8.5 300 300 0 0

growing,
algae film on
top of water
Week 5 Clear Musty Clear Algae film on 23 8.5 200 300 0 0

top of water,
green plant
Potato Agar/Nutrient Agar
Microscopic Observations
Discussion
The chart represents all of the quantitative data collected over the five weeks. Located at
the bottom of the chart is Week 1 through Week 5. There are four lines at the bottom
representing little or no change and low numbers. Two of the lines are at zero due to the fact that
there were no nitrites or nitrates in the pond sample. The yellow line, Alkalinity, starts at a higher
number, but decreased over the five weeks. The green line, Hardness, starts at 1000 and
drastically decreased over the five weeks. The second table is the microscopic observations, in
which there was no luck in the first few weeks, towards the end there was a copepod and a water
mite. One mistake I made was not taking pictures of my microscopic observations every week.
In this experiment the water color did not fluctuate as much as I thought it would. When smelling
the pond sample, most of the time it smelled like normal water, at times it had a slight stench.
While recording suspended solids, most of the time it was clear, sometimes opaque. To test this
you test if you can see your fingers through the jar. If you could clearly see them, it would be
called clear. If they were more blurry, it would be called opaque. If you could not see your
fingers, it would be considered turbid. For the physical appearance, the only thing I noticed was
a yellow-ish film at the surface of the sample. For microscopic observations, in week 1 I
unfortunately could not get anything due to the organisms being so quick. This repeated in week
2. In week 3, I found what is to be known as a Copepod, a Copepod is of great ecological
importance due to the fact that it provides food for many species of fish (Copepod, 2018). In
week 4, I was unfortunate again but in week 5 I found a water mite. A Water Mites feed on
insect larvae and small crustaceans (Water mites, 2018).
Conclusion
While observing the qualitative and quantitative data, the pond water sample had minor
changes but nothing too drastic, besides the hardness. The microscopic observations were pretty
disappointing due to the fact that I could never catch anything. This assignment was useful due
to the fact that it is weekly observations and it is interesting.
References
"All About Ponds and Lakes - MBGnet." http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/lakes/pond.htm.

Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.
"Copepod | crustacean | Britannica.com." 12 Oct. 2018,

https://www.britannica.com/animal/copepod. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.
"Water mites (Hydrachnidae) | LIFE IN FRESHWATER."

http://lifeinfreshwater.net/water-mites/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2018.

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Pond Water Paper

Materials & Methods

Week 1 Clear None Clear Clear, still 12 8.5 720 1000 0 0

Week 2 Yellow Musty Opaque Yellow, film 21 8 300 1000 0 0

Week 3 Yellow Musty Opaque Algae on 23 8.5 180 300 0 0

Week 4 Yellow None Clear Green plant 24 8.5 300 300 0 0

Week 5 Clear Musty Clear Algae film on 23 8.5 200 300 0 0

Potato Agar/Nutrient Agar

"All About Ponds and Lakes - MBGnet." http://www.mbgnet.net/fresh/lakes/pond.htm.

"Copepod | crustacean | Britannica.com." 12 Oct. 2018,

"Water mites (Hydrachnidae) | LIFE IN FRESHWATER."

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