Algae's Effect on a Water Ecosystem

Overview

Objectives/Goals My question is to find out how much fertilizer that runs off into a body of water is harmful. My hypothesis is that the more concentrated the fertilizer dilution series, the more algae will form. Methods/Materials I used the following materials: One package of 16 oz. Styrofoam cups, one package of 8 oz. cups, one box of graduated cylinders, one box of Hyponex fertilizer 21-0-0, 16-16 oz. hard plastic cups, thermometer, one bag of Sta-Green fertilizer- Color Bloom 15-30-15, three 4 liter containers of pond water, lake water, and reverse osmosis water, two 4 liter empty containers, one 2 liter empty container, Hydroponic light (T-5), one 4 liter bottle of distilled water, heat mat, and tray. Results The results of my first trial were as follows: nothing happened. At that point, I decided to research my fertilizer further and found out that I needed a fertilizer that was higher in Phosphate than Nitrogen. I then decided to move my cups away from the window and into the center of the room, where it is warmer and used a hydroponic light (T-5) for 8-hours a day along with the natural lighting of the room. In trial 2 algal growth was definately present. One observation I noticed was that Red Hill Pond produced a brownish-red algae and that Puddingstone Reservoir produced a green algae. For my third trial I also used a heat mat to keep the temperature of the water constant. I found that with the lighting and the heat mat Trial 3 was the most successful. Conclusions/Discussion I think that my project could really help humanity and save a lot of water ecosystems. I feel that public knowledge about how fertilizers harm the ecosystems, by creating algae growth, would help humanity. If a few people at a time, could be more conscience of their water runoff when they use fertilizer, it would help. If the public could be educated that just a tiny amount of fertilizer could create such algal blooms, they would want to help. It all starts with a few people. I also think that if fertilizer companies were more aware of my project, that in trying to go #green#, maybe they could come up with a fertilizer that wouldn#t create algal bloom and be ecologically safe.

Competition history

• CSEF 2017 Toxicology · Entry J2217

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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