Progress updates

Sept 12-16

In the beginning I just narrowed what field I wanted to pursue. I ultimately decided that I wanted to do something with biology and began to brainstorm ideas on what specifically that may be.

Sept 19-23

When we first began brainstorming I wanted to originally test the effects that different macronutrients and micronutrients had on crayfish. For the first week I did research on crayfish and how they could be affected by different contaminants.

Sept 26-30

I began researching some articles and learning more about crayfish and how they react to certain things in their environment so I could utilize this information in my research project in which crayfish showed variation in behavior, growth, etc. when in contact with different environments, what species they live and come into contact with and more. The article on the left tested changes in sediment dynamics and macroinvertebrate density based on the presence or absence of an invasive crayfish species which showed the impact crayfish have on substrate dynamics (the dynamic behavior of biomacromolecules).

Oct 3-7

I created a google sheet of all different contaminants that I could test but I soon realized that this experiment with the crayfish wasn't a realistic option and would need a lot of materials and there were a lot of factors that need to be precise or the experiment would be flawed or inaccurate if I only tested one macronutrient and one micronutrient and then I would need a control so viable data would be difficult to analyze and compare being the test groups would be so small. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vnFbip050-bnt-KKinY2SyVAREhgVGiiTtnliRBPAV8/edit#gid=0

Oct 10-14

It took a little while to decide what to pursue in my research project but in the end I came to the conclusion that I wanted to test the effect that glucose has on the growth and development of Wisconsin fast plants.

Oct 17th - 21st

I began to research and find articles that showed what Wisconsin fast plants were affected by and what can be beneficial to their growth, pigment, stableness, ect. This image is from an article where different macronutrients and micronutrients were used on Wisconsin fast plants and it was observed how they were affected.

Oct 24th - 28th

I finished my research with articles and gathered information and data that these articles provided. There isn't much information on these plants regarding glucose or really even testing at all so I focused on living conditions and what specifically caused the plants to show variations from one another. I did find articles that ran different tests on these plants like the one seen on the left but it was how bees and pollination affects different aspects of Wisconsin fast plants.

Oct 31st - Nov 4th

I took my research and began to think of what materials I would need for my project and listed them into a Bill of Materials. Once this was completed I then waited for those materials to arrive so I could begin the setup for my research.

Nov 7th - 23rd

Some of my materials arrived and I began the setup of my project. I finished what I was able to being the given materials that had arrived. I set up my bins with the felt so when the quads and plants arrived I was able to begin as soon as possible.

Jan 3rd - 6th

This week I began the setup of my plant quads in order to prepare them for testing next week. I began with putting the wicks in the bottom pulling them half way through each section of the quad. Then, I filled each section halfway with indoor potting soil and placed 4 plant fertilizer seeds which I then covered with a thin layer of soil.

Jan 9th - 13th

This week I worked on figuring out how to set up my different solutions as they would each be different percentages. Also, how many groups I want to use in this research experiment. I also finished the setup of my quads and all that is left is to put the plant seeds in. I had to calculate how to create the solutions with the percentages I wanted.

Jan 17th - 20th

This week I began my research project. Everyday I watered my five groups with 2.5ml of their given solution and if any plants were present I recorded their height, the color, how many leaves and in what solution, quadrant, and cell that plant was in. This data was recorded in a google sheet I created.

Jan 21st - 31st

During this time I continued to water each plant groups with their given solution. Being I was unable to water them everyday when I returned it seems that the plants that were previously sprouting diminished in size and experienced a dramatic color change. They were getting more grey and losing mass with everyday that went by even when I returned and began watering them again they seemed to already be dead.

Feb 6th - 10th

I continued my experiment and watered each plant groups with their given solution. I decided since the break killed majority of the plants that I would run a second trial which I will begin to set up next week.

Feb 13th - 17th

This week I began to dismantle my project in order to restart it. I began to clean out my plant quads and wash them in order to be able to prepare for the second trial next week. I cut new pieces of felt and washed the bins as well to avoid any unreliable results.

Feb 27th - March 3rd

This week I began to set up my plants for the testing of the second trial that I am planning to begin next week. I put in the wicks in the bottom and filled the quads about halfway up with soil and placed the fertilizer pellets on top. Then the pellets were covered with a thin layer of soil. The seed can be placed on top and the remaining space in the cell is filled with soil but I want to wait until next week to plant the seed to ensure that I can get them all planted and start the research all on the same day.

March 13th - 17th

I began to water my plants with just water which allows them to grow before I begin using the given solution because in my last trial the higher concentrations formed sugar blocks which prevented the plants from growing to being with.

March 20th - 24th

This week I began my second trial and noticed that all of my plants were healthy and growing except for the 1% solution which wilted and died after being watered with the solution once. The higher concentration solutions as well as the lower concentration solutions were still growing well so I wonder what caused this.

March 27th-31st

This week I continued to water the Wisconsin fast plants with their solutions and water to avoid another failed trail because there is not enough time to start over. Everything seemed to be growing well and I recorded the data in my sheet.

April 17th - 21st

This week I just continued to water my plants and record data in my spread sheet. I refilled the bins with water and today was a regular water day for all plants to avoid the buildup that was seen last trial.

April 22nd - 26th

I continued to water my plants with their given solution every 3 days and noticed a significant difference in growth in all test groups except the %1 solution. In both trials the %1 solution showed little to no growth and I don't know the reason.

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