Investigating the Effects of An Abiotic Factor on the Frequency and Distribution of a Freshwater Invertebrate
(i) Planning
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Introduction
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Before a complex biological study can be planned and formulated, the
terminology in the title above must be clarified. The investigation
requires a sound knowledge of ecology, which essentially is the study
of organisms, whether they be animals or insects, and their
relationship with the environment in which they live.
The title of the investigation states that it is the effect of an
abiotic factor that is being investigated, as opposed to a biotic
factor. There is a very subtle difference between these two factors.
Biotic and abiotic factors can both affect how an organism lives and
interacts with the immediate environment.
1. Biotic factors are the effects of all the other living organisms
that inhabit the studied ecosystem. Organisms can influence each other
in many ways of which predation is only one. Many organisms must
compete with one another for food, and there are organisms, which feed
directly from others as parasites.
2. Abiotic factors are different from biotic factors in that they
don’t involve other organisms. This means that anything, which affects
an organism in its ecosystem that is not living, is classed as an
abiotic factor. Popular examples of abiotic factors include the
climate and water currents. It has to be accepted that different
organisms will respond in different ways to the same abiotic factor.
It will be important to remember this throughout the course of the
investigation.
Now that these key terms have been clarified the title can be fully
understood and a scientific investigation can be planned.
A good starting point is to decide upon the abiotic factor and
freshwater organism that will be investigated. Hence it is important
to construct a list of possible biotic factors, this essentially will
be a list of any organisms that may be found in the studied ecosystem.
In a similar fashion a list of abiotic factors must also be
From the excerpt Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, Twain describes his experiences on the Mississippi River while he is controlling a steamboat. Twain begins the story by describing the atmosphere of the river, the qualities of the river, and the spectacular view from the steamboat. He vividly projects the river by comparing it to a book that is legendary and nonetheless absorbing of attention. However, his perception of beauty towards the river changes as he encounters boredom, disinterest, and emptiness.
The frequency of Patella vulgata has shown to be affected by different microhabitats. An experiment was taken to investigate the difference in limpet frequency at three different microhabitats at the middle shore – Rock pools, Under Rocks and on Top of Rocks. At each microhabitat six sites were investigated and the abiotic factors (temperature, humidity, wind speed and light intensity) were measured. It was found that Under Rocks had the highest frequency of limpets and Rock Pools had the lowest, this was because the limpets where sheltered from direct contact with sunlight and wind, so desiccation was less for limpets found under the rocks whereas in rock pools. The low frequency of limpets found in the rock pools was firstly due to the fact there was poor visibility so could not be sure of actual number of limpets and secondly there was less stable substrate for limpet to attach to in rook pools therefore was a main reason for low frequency of limpets. Consequently, there existed this significant difference between the frequencies of limpets at different microhabitats because of abiotic factors (abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment, such as light intensity, temperature and wind speed) being different.
The zebra mussel is a small freshwater mussel, this species was originally native to the lakes of southern Russia. From their first appearance in American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including Lake Simcoe in the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi, Cumberland, Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers. Unfortunately, the invasion of the Zebra Mussel continues. For instance, in 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirmed that zebra mussels had been found in Laurel Lake in the Berkshires. That same year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels have been found in Pelican Lake, Minnesota. This was the first confirmed sighting in the Red River Basin, which extends across the international border into the province of Manitoba. In July, 2010, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of zebra mussel in the Red River. As recently as 2010 California similarly reported invasions. In 2011 an invasion of the mussels has resulted in reduced water supplies during a drought year, worsening water restrictions across the Dallas area. However, it has been accidentally introduced in many other areas, and has become an invasive species in many different countries worldwide.
Karatayev, A., Burlakova, L. E. and Padilla, D. K. (2002) Impacts of zebra mussels on aquatic communities and their role as ecosystem engineers. Springer, pp. 433--446.
The next topic for discussion in this paper is ecology. This will include, preferred habitats and interactions with abiotic and biotic elements of the environment.
Fish habitat is the underwater world which many people do not see. It is just like the world that people live. Fish and plants reproduce, eat, and live in this environment, and even face challenges such as invasive species. It is said that “Invasive species are non-native species that threaten the diversity or abundance of native species due to their uncontrollable population growth, causing ecological or economic impacts” (“Invasive” par. 1). Vegetation plays a big role for fish habitat and for a lake itself. Aquatic habitat provides living space for not only fish but also for many aquatic insects. These insects then in turn provide fish and other species of animals with food (“Native” par. 4).
were prevented from ever happening. This meant that now there would be no fire to help new
Lake Erie is a fascinating biological system despite many years of climate and human destruction along with ecosystem challenges. The burning river now has become the greatest ecosystem recovery of the world.
The Artemia franciscana can survive in extreme conditions of salinity, water depth, and temperature (Biology 108 laboratory manual, 2010), but do A. franciscana prefer these conditions or do they simply cope with their surroundings? This experiment explored the extent of the A. franciscanas preference towards three major stimuli: light, temperature, and acidity. A. franciscana are able to endure extreme temperature ranges from 6 ̊ C to 40 ̊ C, however since their optimal temperature for breeding is about room temperature it can be inferred that the A. franciscana will prefer this over other temperatures (Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). This is much the same in regards to acidity as Artemia franciscana, in general thrive in saline lakes, can survive pH ranges between 7 and 10 with 8 being ideal for cysts(eggs) to hatch (Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). Based on this fact alone the tested A. franciscana should show preference to higher pH levels. In nature A. franciscana feed by scraping food, such as algae, of rocks and can be classified as a bottom feeder; with this said, A. franciscana are usually located in shallow waters. In respect to the preference of light intensity, A. franciscana can be hypothesized to respond to light erratically (Fox, 2001; Al Dhaheri and Drew, 2003). Using these predictions, and the results of the experimentation on the A. franciscana and stimuli, we will be able to determine their preference towards light, temperature, and pH.
Shrimp can be very intelligent animals and have very amazing things such as being clear, this may seem weird but yes, they are clear. Shrimp live in the ocean and come in contact with many different plants animals. The most common plant that the shrimp comes in contact the most with and use for protection is seaweed, coral, and algae. Shrimp use the for protection to hide from the other animals they depend on shrimp for their diet, most of these animals are sharks, whales and sometimes crabs are included. The change of having no eyes helps the shrimp hide from these and keeps the population at a good rate and this has also helped overfishing with not having contact with other animals and causing lots of movement to the other animals and fisherman.
My friend had invited me along with him and his family to the ocean. It was vacation for the family, but for him and me it was the beginning of a week of serious business. We had an obsessive hobby to pursue. As avid and long-term freshwater fisherman, we were thrilled by the thought of catching those large and exotic saltwater fish we had seen on television a billion times before. Yet little did we expect there to be such vast differences between our freshwater fishing and the saltwater fishing, which we were about to pursue. We learned through trial and much error that in order to have a successful saltwater fishing experience we had to make adjustments to all the freshwater tackle, tactics, and gear we knew.
Freshwater fish and saltwater fish are very similar in a lot of ways, but also have differences between them so you can tell them apart. Marine water (saltwater) equals over 96 percent of the water on Earth and over 70 percent of Earth’s total surface. Freshwater is less than four percent of Earth’s total water and is about one percent of Earth’s surface (Freshwater Fish). Interestingly a few species of fish can live in either freshwater or saltwater, but for the majority, they must live in a specific environment. All species of fish used to live in a saltwater environment until certain geological events (earthquakes, volcanic activity, etc.) occurred, creating conditions that isolated groups of fish. The new habitats, included freshwater, and new food sources caused fish to either adapt, or to die (Lohrey).
The experiment measured the survival rate, the growth rate, and the size of the brine shrimp at the time harvested in various environments. To obtain these measurements, three environments were created: sea water, brackish water, and freshwater. For this experiment the scientists used 5 liter plastic buckets. Every two days, half of the water from each bucket was discarded and new water, of each respective salinity, was added into each bucket...
... Under normal conditions, herbivores fish and some invertebrates keep the algae population in check, but over-fishing has diminished populations of herbivores.
“In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people's benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky - by which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about in it creatures of every kind - and the varying direction of the winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there