Casie UR- Down and Dirty for Science

Over the weekend, I went on an expedition to locate the invasive plant known as Eichornia crassipes or more commonly known as the Water Hyacinth. I drove to Blue Springs State Park where the Water Hyacinth grows rapidly.  I was expecting to see hugs swaths of the plant in the St. Johns Rivers but there were none visible. I obviously thought my eyes were deceiving me because several park rangers told me where I could find them. I located the plant specialist that the park employs and he gave me a more specific direction to hunt in. After rolling up my pants and putting on my water socks I trudged into the muck, being very wary of alligators. After several episodes of being sucked in knee deep by the muck I finally came upon the Hyacinth.  They were hidden in clusters of plants known as Spatter Dot and Penny Wort. This was curious as I was informed that I would see an abundant amount of the Hyacinth, but because the temperature of the river is not as warm as it would be in the summer the plant does not grown as abundantly.

After doing some research and going on my own personal exploration I believe I have narrowed my focus and my Scientific Question.

I have learned over the last several weeks that this weed has an affinity for Heavy Metals, it is a natural filtration system and can be used to filter out heavy metals and dyes. I have also learned that this weed will out compete other indigenous plants, choke out the water ways and can cause oxygen depletion.

My new scientific question is this, “Do the water Hyacinths grow more abundantly in areas where there is higher heavy metal concentration?”

 Methods and Materials: 

My plain of action is to concentrate on two areas where there is a higher population of the Water Hyacinth and one area where there is little to none. I will then preform water quality tests to test for high concentrations of copper in the specific area that I choose. I am curious to see if there is a correlation.