The objective of the field study was to discover the quality of the water in the river and the pond observing the invertebrates and collecting the water temperature and the PH levels. In our science class we went out to the Coquitlam River and the Oxbow pond to discover the water quality and the invertebrates that live in that habitat.

Our field study connects to hydrosphere, Geosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere. The Hydrosphere impacts the biosphere because the water needs a specific quality for a certain invertebrates l to live there. The geosphere effects the hydrosphere because of the rocks and the level of water. The Atmosphere effects the biosphere as the quality of the air – the precipitation that falls into the water from the air, impacts the water which impacts the living animals in the water. The biosphere effects the hydrosphere because the types of invertebrates living in the water tells us the water quality.

Coquitlam River site:

In the Coquitlam river our group found some different and interesting types of invertebrates. Our group found 4 different types of invertebrates in the Coquitlam River. 2 different types of Mayflies, Caddisfly and an Alderfly Larva. Most of the invertebrates that we found are part of category 1 taxa which is the good quality category for invertebrates sensitivity towards pollution.

 

The health of the River:

The list of all the water quality’s summarizes how clean and drinkable the water is. The higher the number is the better the water quality which means a heathier river for the plants and invertebrates. A heathy number would be between 71- 90.  Our approximate water quality index was 80 exactly. Overall, the Coquitlam river water was pretty clean. The temperature of the water was 12’c and the air quality was not written down in my group, so I’m not sure what it is.

Oxbow pond site:

For the Oxbow pond, my group found different invertebrates then in the river. We only found 3 different types of invertebrates. We found a Water boatmen, a dragon fly, and a tiny fish. The water boatmen and the fish were not on the sheet that had all the different invertebrate, so we just asked Ms. York about it but the dragon fly Suborder Anlsoptera was. That invertebrates was part of category 2 taxa which is fair quality water.

The health of the pond:

The pond uses the same method as the river did. The water quality is measured by the Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, pH levels, Turbidity, Phosphate, Nitrate, and Total Dissolved Salts. In total for the water quality index, we got 79.94. This number was a bit lower than the River, but the pond is still pretty clean even though it looks really gross and disgusting. The temperature of the water was 14’c and the air temperature was 16’c.

Comparison:

The River and Pond are pretty similar to each other when it comes to the end result of the water quality test. The Oxbow Pond was 79.94 and the Coquitlam River was 80 but when it comes to the invertebrates and the process of the water testing its totally different. The invertebrates we found are different from each other. The invertebrates have different pollution tolerates. We can see from out chart that all organisms cannot live in the same waters with the amount of pollution that there is. The process of getting the water quality is also different. In nitrates for say the Coquitlam River has 20 and the Oxbow pond has 0. That’s a big difference but the over all number has a 0.06 difference. (80-79.94).

Reflection:

I thought this activity was a really fun assignment because its one of a hands-on activity then just listening to the teacher talking all day. I loved that we got to go outside somewhere where I never really gone before. I learned about how different water quality’s impact the invertebrates that live in that habitat and how you can test the water quality with something you can just go buy at the stores. This also taught me that even though the water can look really gross ad dirty the quality can be really good in the end.