A study in Anthropogenic Effects on Florida Estuary
Plankton in the South Atlantic Region
By Cynthia Sharp IMES Program OCE 2013
q
Phytoplankton transform
carbon dioxide during respiration releasing oxygen in the process.
Half of earth’s oxygen is produced by
photosynthesis by phytoplankton; our ocean marine plants estimated production
as a whole is 70 to 80 percent. Though
at night this process uses some oxygen it is firmly believed that this process
produces more oxygen then it uses while capturing large amounts of carbon. By Biosequestration, the algae is now being
considered for use as an organic biofuel.
q Anthropogenic
Activities effect nutrient and bacterial balances.
Much is acknowledged as to effects of
nutrient loading. It produces algae
blooms in rivers, lakes, estuaries and our shorelines. The initial blooms and eutrophication that
follow rob the life giving oxygen reserves, resulting in large scale kills of
fish and other sea creatures that eventually wash ashore in great numbers.
q The potential change to marine plankton
biodiversity, would intern impact all other organisms dependent on them.
The
imbalance then too is created amongst creatures that once fed, or continue to
feed on these coastal phytoplankton and those effected by the increase in
bacteria both anaerobic on the seafloor, and by aerobic free swimmers.
This
week I will include the species we expect, based on what is known to be in the
estuaries.
Can we
find differences at the microscopic plankton species level between the anthropogenic
and natural pristine areas?
- Collect samples from both types of sites
- Identify microscopic organisms that occupy
these samples .
- Document Classifications and variety of
plankton
.
- Look for patterns between location types and
species.
Observations for this study will be done at four sites
a)Halifax
River -Ormond Beach
Haw Creek Preserve State Park
b) Halifax River -Daytona Beach
Near Mason Bridge
c) Indian River North -New Smyrna Beach
Near Causeway Bridge
d) Indian River -New Smyrna Beach
Canaveral National Seashore
The
study will consist of four samples in four separate tanks at 5.7 Liters, or
about 1.5 gal.
A soft source of current can be
delivered by a pump.
Products
like “Top Fin” can be used as evaporation occurs.
A
timer
along with a sunlamp
will
provide source to continue the processes of photosynthesis.
The
samples
will stay at room temperature other then what
heat absorbed by sunlamp. (approximately 12hrs and 10 mins. Each day)
- To identify microscopic organisms
•Record individuals to their locations
according to sample
•Document differences if they exist
•Use bar graphs to illustrate and reveal
patterns
•Possibly use plots to correlate similar
results from samples.
Monitor to discover and further research
•The Changes that take place
•What diversity deviations can we
distinguish
•
•Distance or region effected by these
changes
•Document over time to recognize spread
•
•Synergistic variation due to Season and
environment
•Are the processes altered or increased
Unable to load Graph / server rejected
Chad
Macfie, Curator of live
exhibits
Marine
Science Center Daytona Beach, Florida
Pamela
Hopkins,
PhD Research
Associate,
Florida
Oceanographic
Society Stuart, Florida
Kirby,
Richard. R. (2011) Ocean
Drifters a secret world beneath the waves.
Buffalo, NY:
Firefly Books (U.S.) Inc.
Bermuda
Institute of Ocean Sciences /BiosScope
Jennifer
Chu / Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) News July 20, 2015
On April 2, 2018 at 5:20 PM I got a question from
Jessy
102 section. What plankton species are known to live in our area?
I
don't know much about this but sounds really cool!
 |
| Crustaceans ReaserchGat |
Hi Jessy,
So, plankton, sizes up to 5mm down to only a few micrometers
come in many forms; three types are Phytoplankton, Holoplankton and Miroplankton.
Phytoplankton perform photosynthesis and unless I discover colonies, (diatoms
and others form distinct groupings) these will often be too small to observe
with my equipment. However Holoplankton spend their entire lives as plankton,
most feeding on phytoplankton and the others Miroplankton spend only part of
their lives as plankton on their way to becoming adult creatures of everything
imaginable. Cnidarians and Ctenophores, phylum’s that include true jelly fish,
sea anemones and pens, many with multiple stages; Crustaceans such as Copepods
that have six stages and nine orders most of those parasitic; Amphipods and Euphausid
(krill) I am still working on. Mollusca larvae
too could be present. It’s extensive because of Florida and my estuary choice
of locations.
Florida’s unique position south along the Atlantic coast
and upwards of the Caribbean warm water temperatures place it in prime
upwelling zones bring nutrients to coastlines. As the Sea warms through the
seasons these zones increase up north and the summer months in the tropics will
actually see a decrease in plankton once nutrients are used. Florida resides alongside
the Gulf Stream and nutrient rich all year long and 2018 is a La Nina year
increasing the plankton activity. Thanks for asking, it will be an interesting exploration.
Lindsey, R. & Scott, M. NASA. (2010). What are phytoplankton? Earth
Observatory. Retrieved from
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Phytoplankton/page1.php
Miss Veronica wrote....
Hello Cynthia!
I'm Veronika Goncharova from OCE1001 section 301. I had a question about something you mentioned in your introduction. You said that "By Biosequestration, the algae is now being considered for use as an organic biofuel." What is biofuel? Can algae be used as an energy source because of how much there is of it? Would it be more useful to use algae from anthropogenic or natural pristine areas? Would this interfere with plankton producing oxygen? Please let me know!!
04/10/2018
Hi
Veronica,
Unlike
fossil fuels, biofuels, (this includes ethanol’s derived from starch and sugars)
are derived from living organisms. Algae’s tight community and ability to
capture carbon (autotrophic producers) make it a harvestable carbon resource for
consideration.
According
to the office of energy efficiency and renewable energy some algae produce oils
they hope to harvest in the future.
As
to the last part of your question I’m sure it’s a question that still needs to
be answered. We use algae now creating an abundance treating waste waters, but
have we discovered them all? Much of the microscopic world is yet to be revealed
and cyanobacteria that are considered phytoplankton are assuming a place in the
future as well. I will not be discovering this answer in my study but definitely
worthy of consideration.
