Using Invertebrates to Assess Water Quality- Write- Up
Analysis Questions:
1: What are the names of the species used in this experiment? Which of these species was the
most tolerant of increased acidity in the aquarium? Which species was the least tolerant?
Species used: leech, clam, and tubifex worm.
Most tolerant: Worm
Least: Clam
2: Describe how acid precipitation affects ecosystems.
Acid precipitation will naturally dose the organisms in the ecosystems. The smaller ones
get affected the most as the dose requirement is smaller. The high organisms will suffer
as the smaller ones will either die or get eaten by the larger ones. The ones that get eaten
will transfer its dose to the high organisms of the food chain.
3: What is an indicator species? How are indicator species used to assess pollution levels in the
environment?
An indicator species indicates if something wrong is happening to it's environment. An indicator
species can help assess pollution levels by showing signs that that are too much pollution in the
environment.
4: Suppose you are an ecologist studying the effects of acid precipitation of plant life. Describe
an experiment you would perform in order to determine which plant species would be an useful
indicator species for acid rain pollution.
I would first grab a whole number of plants and place them in acid rain. The ones that show
characteristics of weakening will determine which ones I will use for an indicator.
5: How do the data represented on the Population Bar Graph compare to the data represented in
the line graph titled, “Populations of Aquatic Invertebrates at Various pH Levels?”
The bar graph is basically a population count per pH level while the line graph shows changes of population
the worse the pH gets.
1: What are the names of the species used in this experiment? Which of these species was the
most tolerant of increased acidity in the aquarium? Which species was the least tolerant?
Species used: leech, clam, and tubifex worm.
Most tolerant: Worm
Least: Clam
2: Describe how acid precipitation affects ecosystems.
Acid precipitation will naturally dose the organisms in the ecosystems. The smaller ones
get affected the most as the dose requirement is smaller. The high organisms will suffer
as the smaller ones will either die or get eaten by the larger ones. The ones that get eaten
will transfer its dose to the high organisms of the food chain.
3: What is an indicator species? How are indicator species used to assess pollution levels in the
environment?
An indicator species indicates if something wrong is happening to it's environment. An indicator
species can help assess pollution levels by showing signs that that are too much pollution in the
environment.
4: Suppose you are an ecologist studying the effects of acid precipitation of plant life. Describe
an experiment you would perform in order to determine which plant species would be an useful
indicator species for acid rain pollution.
I would first grab a whole number of plants and place them in acid rain. The ones that show
characteristics of weakening will determine which ones I will use for an indicator.
5: How do the data represented on the Population Bar Graph compare to the data represented in
the line graph titled, “Populations of Aquatic Invertebrates at Various pH Levels?”
The bar graph is basically a population count per pH level while the line graph shows changes of population
the worse the pH gets.