Proctor Pond Health

Table of Context

Introduction

Hypothesis

Procedures

All taken by Riley except for the behind picture of Alan which was taken by Madic

Introduction

This is a blog on the study of the Proctor pond. We will be taking samples to check the health of the pond. We will take samples and tests of Abiotic, Biotic, Cycles, Diversity, and Energy. These things are all important to the health and livelihood of The Proctor Pond. It is our responsibility to take care of our pond for the things that live and thrive in it. We need to understand our pond and the interweb that's inside of it to take care of our pond successfully.

Hypothesis

My group's hypothesis is that If the pond is healthy, then there will be low levels of phosphates and high levels of biodiversity. We think this because the pond has a good and healthy history with no reason for a big change in any of these areas over the years.

Procedures

First, we will make general observations on things like the weather, habitat, and land.

Then we will test the abiotic conditions in the water. We will be taking samples of:

1. pH

2. Water temperature

3. Turbidity

4. Phosphate

5. Nitrogen

6. Dissolved Oxygen

Lastly, we will look for live biotic samples

Taken by Boo Renolds

Materials Needed

Phones
2 buckets
A net
1-2 pipettes
Organism identification sheets
small tray
Abiotic testing kits (turbidity, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, ph, and phosphate)

By Emma Do

Day One

On the first day of the campus pond study, we tested for PH levels, nitrate, turbidity, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, and water temperature. These tests were done using the test kits applied by Alan Mcintyre. This day was by far our most successful day when came to collecting species. We were able to collect species like crayfish, and multiple other species that our group was not able to identify. It was a very nice day with a lot of sun we all ended up wearing white shoes, so Madic was our sacrifice. The first day was fifty-eight degrees and sunny with a one on the Beaufort scale. It was the 21st of October at 1:30 in the afternoon.

A block pond data

Day Two

On the second day of the campus pond study, we yet again tested for PH levels, nitrate, turbidity, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, and water temperature. These tests were done using the test kits applied by Alan McIntyre. Unlike the first day, we collected little to no living organisms. We had mostly leaves, mud, and very minuscule critters. we tied the other side of our site which was a lot sandier, but we didn't find anything. The second day was sixty-five degrees and cloudy with a very mild wind, one the Beaufort scale. It was the 24rd of October at 8 in the morning.

A block pond data

Day Three

On the third and final day of the campus pond study, we tested for PH levels, nitrate, turbidity, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, and water temperature for the last time. These tests were done using the test kits applied by Alan Mcintyre. This day was also a failure like day two. Our group didn't find anything on day three because the mud made the water unclear therefore we couldn’t find anything. It was so muddy that we couldn't even find leaves in the water. The third day was 14.3 degrees and rainy, with a one on the Beaufort scale. It was the 26th of October at 10 in the morning.

A block pond data

The Pond Dredging

In 2018 the Procor Pond was completely dredged. Proctor consulted with wildlife ecologists, state engineers, permitting agencies, and other experts to ensure that it was the healthiest thing for the pond. The goal of the dredging was to increase the depth and reset the ecosystem.

Diversity Index

The Diversity Index, also known as the Simpson's Diversity Index, is an equation that calculates the biodiversity of an area. The formula is D= N(N-1)/∑n(n-1)

D= Simpson's Diversity Index

N= Total number of organisms

n= The number of individuals in a population

As you can see, the diversity in the pond was somewhat stable from 2018-2019 but took a sharp nose dive in 2020 and then a big rise in 2021 and 2022. I really don't know why that is due to the main disturbance being in 2018.

Pollution Index

The Pollution Index is a way to measure the pollution of an area using the number of species and their sensitivity to pollution. Some species that are very sensitive to pollution are mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies we will be looking at these populations in relation to our pond.

New Hampshire Rapid Stream Assessment Technique (NHRSAT).pdf

On the other hand, the pollution Index shows a continuous up-and-down cycle. My group was theorizing that this was due to a compensation cycle. Like when there's too much prey, more predators come in, causing there to be less prey, making fewer predators, making more prey, and so on and so forth.

We have had very few numbers of caddisflies with zero this year. the most number of caddisflies has been 7 in 2019 but we have never had high numbers so they aren't the best indicators for our pond.

It's a similar case with the stoneflies. We have only caught one this year and in 2018 we found 6 but that's the most found in recent years. Stoneflies also aren't the best indicators for our pounds health.

The mayflies are a little different. This year we found 14. Later we found 46 in 2019. this is obviously very different from the other indicator species. This makes mayflies a very good indicator of the ponds health.

Abiotic testing

The less nitrate in the pond the better. If the average for the year is less than 4 the pond is doing well. It's good that our average was zero this year.

The best pH levels for a pond are 6.5 to 9. In the Proctor Pond, we have had 6.4 to 7 on the pH scale.

The best water temperature for a pond in Fall is around 68 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit. this year the pond was 53.4 degrees and the pond has been at a similar temp for the past few years.

The air temperature has not been that different for the past five years is is because we do it at the same time of year.

The idle level of Phosphate in a pond is 0.05 ppm. Our pond is a little higher than that.

Turbidity should be less than 20. We got 15 this year and we have not gone farther 20 in the past.

the healthy level of dissolved oxygen is 6.5-8 mg/L. and this year it was 8.3 which is really good.

Reflec

I really enjoyed this pond experiment. My group and I had a lot of fun exploring our section of the pond and doing tests. I liked learning about what makes a central part of our campus work and ways to keep it healthy. We didn't even fall into the pond once!

Conclusion

To conclude my blog I would like to state confidently that the pond is healthy. I can say this because the pond has high levels of dissolved oxygen and low levels of pH. We also had a high rating on the diversity index. some errors we might have occurred during this experiment is math calculations. Another area we might have had problems in is the testing. The allotted time might not have been fulfilled.

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