What was the objective of our field studies? How does it connect to our 4 spheres?
Doing our field studies on testing water samples and looking at the types of invertebrates in the Coquitlam River and Oxbow Pond, helped us to see what the quality of our water is. This connects to the four sphere types, hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere because the water quality can affect what types of invertebrates can live there, and the water quality can be affected by the atmosphere and the geosphere.
Coquitlam River Site:
In the Coquitlam River, we first looked at testing the water quality using these testing strips, which show us the pH levels, the nitrates, and the phosphate levels. We also measured the temperature of the water, between upriver and downriver.
We measured the water quality for the river using a chart, and here are our results
This tells us that the water quality of the Coquitlam River is good, and that it is protected and supports lots of life. This also means that we can swim in the river.
The invertebrate life of the Coquitlam River was somewhat abundant. Most of the invertebrates that we found were mayfly, stonefly, and damselfly.
The invertebrates that we found tell us that the water quality and health of the river is good because these invertebrates are found only in good quality of water.
Oxbow Pond
In the Oxbow Pond, we used the same testing strips as we did in the river, which showed us the levels of pH, nitrates, and phosphates. We also measured the temperature of the pond water.
The index tells us what the health of the pond is good, which means that a variety of different plants, insects, and animals can live in it.
When we looked for the invertebrates, we were able to find an abundance of different ones, such as dragonfly larva, water penny, small fish, caddisfly larva, and many others. These types of invertebrates can live in good quality and non polluted water.
The water quality value of the Coquitlam River is 87.8, which tells us that the quality of water is good. The Oxbow Pond has a water quality value of 79.8, which also means that the water quality is good. When water quality is good, a variety of animals and plants can live in it, and it also means that humans are able to swim in that water.
Comparison of the two sites
The water quality between the pond and the river is not that large of a difference, although the quality of the pond is at the lower end of the “good” category of water quality. I think that the reason for the difference between the water quality is because the river is flowing water, so things that may cause the water quality to go down, would move along down the river. Whereas with the pond, it is still-standing water, so stuff that would alter the water quality cannot move either at all, or as quickly. The invertebrate difference is quite great. We found approximately double as many invertebrates in the pond as we did in the river. I think that this is the case because in the river, the invertebrates would have to hang on to rocks or plants much harder, as it is flowing water, so there isn’t as large of a chance that you will get lots of invertebrates. In the pond however, the invertebrates do not need to hang on because the water does not flow. This means that the number of invertebrates in one area increases, which gives you a better chance of getting more invertebrates in one “sweep”. The type of invertebrates that live in a body of water depends on the water quality. If there is pollution in the water, invertebrates such as stonefly, caddisfly, or mayfly will not live there, but invertebrates like leeches, water mites, or aquatic worms will live there.
Reflection
I thought that these activities were a lot of fun, and it was a great way for me to get to know the people in my class, as I did not know to many of them. I also found that it was very interesting to learn about the science behind the river and pond right by my school. I learned about how to test water and how to collect invertebrates safely from waterways. Another thing that I learned was how to calculate the water quality using the testing strips, which I found very interesting. I think that it would be difficult to make activities like this meaningful, as what we are doing is for information and not something that requires meaningfulness.