Water Quality of Furnace Brook

Introduction:  We tested the turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature of the Furnace Brook Creek. We did this to see how macroinvertebrates are affected by the environment, and climate, which macroinvertebrates live in certain areas, and what macroinvertebrates can survive in different types of  stream / water quality. Different macroinvertebrates like to live in different water qualities. Such as Stoneflies and Water Pennies enjoy good water quality, high dissolved oxygen levels, nonturbid waters. Caddisflies, Craneflies, and Crayfish just need fair water qualities and their satisfied.

Research Question:  Which location would have a healthier environment; rocky and fast speed waters or non rocky and slow speed waters?

Hypothesis:  I predict that the rocky and fast speed waters location will be a healthier environment

Variable Identification:  

controlled variable method to control Location 1 Location 2 Location 1 Location 2 shady area shady area under a bridge covered by trees below drain above drain upstream downstream non-rocky rocky slow velocity fast velocity

Experimental Setup : The experiment was performed in shady areas near Corcoran High School. A small vial and two dissolved oxygen testabs were used to test how much ppm of dissolved oxygen is in the water. A 10 mL test tube and one pH range testab was used to test the pH level of the water. To determine temperature a thermometer came into play. when turbidity needed to be measured a secchi disk was needed also

Procedure:  

Turbidity:

1. Fill the jar ,with the secchi disk on the bottom inside, to the line indicated
2. Wait a few minutes, look and compare the secchi disk to the icons on the chart of turbidity

Temperature:

1. Fill the jar to indicated line
2. Hold thermometer in the water in the jar
3. After a couple of minutes check the thermometer for the temperature

Dissolved Oxygen:

1. Dip the small vial in the jar to fill it up with water
2. Drop two dissolved oxygen testabs into the vial
3. Twists the cap onto the vial; makes there no bubbles
4. Mix by inverting the vial over and over, do this for about four minutes
5. Wait five more minutes, then look at the dissolved oxygen color chart
6. See what color on the chart corresponds with the color of you water in the small vial

pH:

1. Fill the test tube to the 10 mL line
2. Add one pH wide range testab
3. Twist cap on the the test tube and mix by inverting until tablet has dissolved
4. Now, compared the color of the sample to the colors on the pH chart

macroinvertebrate samples:

1. Place the kick net in the water, and put a rock at the bottom so it doesn't go anywhere   
2. Go about five feet upstream from the net
3. Move rocks, soils, any kind of sediments to free the macroinvertebrates; the stream will carry them top the net
4. After a few minutes, fill up paint tray, and gu9ide the net over so the macroinvertebrates fall into the paint tray
5. Now, observe what macroinvertebrates are in the paint tray and us the macroinvertebrate identification key to tell which ones were captured

Stream Velocity:

1. measure out 40 feet
2. drop a golf ball from zero
3. time how long it takes the golf ball to get to 40; repeat this four more times
4. after all five times take the average, then divide 40 feet and the average float time for the golf ball. your answer will be feet/second.

Data:  

	Total biomass in sample (g)
	Stream A	Stream B
stone fly	11	2
midge larve	8	20
caddisfly	1	1
scuds	4	4

• 
  

Results :

• The blue represents the first data collection (first location), the red represents the second data collection (second location).

Discussion:  This data shows that there's more stone fly in the first location then the second, more midge larva in the second then the first, and the same amount of caddisfly and scuds in both the first and second

Evaluation:  There were several weaknesses and errors during this experiment. Most were from human things, like the drain and the bridge. the drain caused us to lose a lot of data that could have been captured.

Conclusion:  My data did not fully prove my hypothesis. all the data shows about the second location is that there were more midge larve

References – Macroinvertebrates - Environment." Environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.