What I think the objective of our field studies was to learn more about our rivers and ponds/lakes. It’s connected to our study of the 4 spheres because rivers and ponds/lakes are part of the hydrosphere.
Coquitlam river
Water quality:
The approximate water quality index score I got was 84.96 which means the water quality in the river good. Since the water quality is good it supports a high diversity of life and is suitable for all forms of recreation, that is if you don’t mind the water being freezing cold.
Invertebrate life:
We found a lot of mayflies, a few stoneflies, a lot of fingerling salmons, and 2 aquatic worms. The mayflies, stoneflies and fingerling salmons indicate that the water quality is good because they are pollution sensitive organisms.
Oxbow pond
Water quality:
The approximate water quality index score I got was 69.35 which means the water quality in the pond was average. Since the water quality was average the aquatic organisms were not as diverse and there was algae and oil in the water.
Invertebrate life:
We found a scud, a pond snail, and a dragonfly: suborder anisoptera. These organisms indicate the water quality is between average and good because the scud and dragonfly can be found in good or average quality water while the pond snail can be found in any quality water.
Comparison:
The water quality in the river looks a lot better than the pond but surprisingly the river is in the middle of good while the pond surprisingly close to being good. (The max score for average is 70 and the pond has a score of 69.35.) the invertebrate life in the river was a lot more diverse than the pond and we found a lot more invertebrates in the river. I think that the better the water quality the more diverse and more invertebrates there will be.
Reflection:
Going in the river was fun while going in the pond was just gross. The organisms in the river weren’t as gross looking as the ones in the pond except for the orange worm. I learned a lot about what’s in our rivers and ponds and now I’m not sure if I want to go swimming in the river this summer. I say we can make the activities more meaningful by letting more people wade in the water. But right now we can’t do that due to covid.