macroinvertebrate has the most mercury when compared throughout the trophic pyramid Macroinvertebrates are insects without a backbone that can be seen with the naked eye Mercury is an element that can be found in water air and soil or sediment There is more than one specific type of ID: 712188
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IntroductionOur group is researching, “Which macroinvertebrate has the most mercury when compared throughout the trophic pyramid?” Macroinvertebrates are insects without a backbone that can be seen with the naked eye. Mercury is an element that can be found in water, air and soil or sediment. There is more than one specific type of mercury like inorganic, organic, elemental, and metallic (metal). Mercury can also give off toxic vapors which is dangerous for the environment because they are clear, odorless, and invisible, so we don’t even know they are evaporating because we can’t see or smell them. Mercury’s chemical symbol is Hg, which comes from the Latin word hydragyus, which means “liquid silver.” As mercury moves up on the trophic pyramid it is biomagnified into the higher levels of plants and animals because the organisms at the bottom pass it up the pyramid as they are eaten by the animals in the higher levels. Mercury can be distributed into the environment in many ways like atmospheric deposition, burning coal, medical wastes, and mining for coal. The type of mercury that most animals take in is methylmercury. The effects on organisms can be severe by getting into their immune systems, genetic and enzyme systems, and can even damage their nervous system, which could eventually kill them. When the mercury increases through the trophic pyramid it is called biomagnification. HypothesisIf we a compare the levels of mercury in macroinvertebrates then the mayfly will have the least and crayfish will have the most because it is highest on the trophic pyramid and the mercury is biomagnified the most in the crayfish.
Materials and methodsIn order to answer this question we gathered information about the macroinvertebrates and analyzed macroinvertebrate data. Students used the clean hand dirty hands technique to gather macroinvertebrates. The macroinvertebrates collected were sent to Dartmouth College and the University of Maine to have the amount of mercury measured in them. We graphed all the data collected from schools in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine and made a box and whiskers graph of the data. The data came from different sites and years.
AcknowledgmentsAll Students involved with the projectThe University of MaineDartmouth CollegeVanessa CramerJennifer StaintonKat RobbinsSchoodic Education and Research Center Institute National Park ServicesNational Park Foundation
ResultsThis graph is showing the levels of mercury in parts per billion in crayfish, mayfly and dragonfly.The crayfish has the highest average.The dragonfly has the lowest average.
Conclusions The purpose of this project is to compare the levels of mercury in macroinvertebrates. The hypothesis stated, “If we a compare the levels of mercury in macroinvertebrates then the mayfly will have the least and crayfish will have the most because it is highest on the trophic pyramid and the mercury is biomagnified the most in the crayfish.”The averages of the three macroinvertebrates suggest that the crayfish have the most mercury in them because the results in parts per billion were, mayfly 53.7, dragonfly 52.6,and crayfish 56.9. The dragonfly had the biggest range going from 4.6 to 376.6 ppb, the crayfish had the smallest range going from 18.1 to 141.1 ppb, and the mayfly’s range was 8 to 237.1 ppb. The dragonfly had the highest range on the graph and the crayfish had the smallest range. The hypothesis was somewhat supported because the crayfish did have the most mercury but the dragonfly had the least instead of the mayfly. The fact that the dragonfly had the lowest amount of mercury was not expected because it is higher on the trophic pyramid than the mayfly. A limitation was that we were limited to only certain data from schools throughout New England in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Also we had a lot of data from dragonflies but not so much for crayfish and mayfly. The data came from different years and places as well and that could have affected it because of different precipitation levels like the amount of snow and rain. Also some students may not have used the Clean Hands, Dirty Hands technique properly which might have contaminated the samples. The end results show that the crayfish have the most mercury in them but our hypothesis was not fully supported because the dragonfly had the lowest amount of mercury instead of the mayfly. Next time I would gather more data for each of the macroinvertebrates, but I would keep the same three organisms.
By Ezra Astbury and Hunter BalchWoodstock Union High School
Literature cited"Crayfish (Cambarus)." Crayfish (Cambarus). N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.Jame, and Helena Puche. "Using scientific inquiry to teach students about water quality." The American Biology Teacher 74.7 (2012): 503+. Science In Context. Web. 5 Nov. 2013."Mercury in the Environment." Mercury in the Environment. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013"South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control." SCDHEC: EQC Administration. South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
Small Gets Big in Mercury
Mercury Concentration in Macroinvertebrates