Hannah Vu-Bennett (UR) - EPA water regulations

As you know I am conducting groundwater studies. I have come across EPA water regulations that I thought I'd incorporate into my project. On the EPA website, they have listed the recommended limits for copper, nitrate, pH, and salinity. According to EPA guideline, it is recommended for copper and nitrate to be at 10 mg/L or lower. The pH levels for drinking water is recommended to be between 6.05 to 8.5. The regulation for salinity is 0.5 ppt. Of the five that I am testing for, I can’t seem to find the recommended regulation for phosphate levels. Beside that technical difficulty, I plan to compare my results to EPA standards. Hopefully, my results are within its guidelines!

Reference:

1.    “Secondary Drinking Water Standards”, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, https://floridadep.gov/water/source-drinking-water/content/secondary-drinking-water-standards

2.    1. “Home Water Testing.” EPA, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-11/documents/2005_09_14_faq_fs_homewatertesting.pdf.

Augustus (UR) The Settings are set now time to Collect

I am extremely excited to say that with the help of Dr. Woodall I have been given to place both the data loggers in really awesome places. The first Location is the US Coast Guard Station at Ponce Inlet and the second being at Canaveral National Seashore! This is so big because other people are recognizing our research as an important issue and by giving us the permission they must also be interested in the results!

That's really all the new news to report, other than that I have just really been working on my poster which I think is perfect now after many many drafts, but as I said in a previous post, science is all about failing and coming back to try again.

So Victoria Goncharova asks Do you have an estimate of how many years it would take (given the increase is 3.2 cm or more) for Flagler Beach to start worrying? Do you think our area should start making precautions like Miami before it's too late?

So for this questions I'll refer you to a cool resource I found in the research of my project. It's an interactive water level map created by NOAA. It allows you to see water level increases over the years. So by using most experts and NASA's current estimates we could see an increase in water level of a foot or more in about 10 years. So according to the prediction map, with 1 foot of extra water, parts of Flagler Beach would already start to become permanently flooded, especially with parts of Flagler being in low- lying areas you could see more flooding in those areas. I think all of coastal Florida should start making preparations for this, it's always better to be proactive than reactive and by preparing early we can all be ready for when or if this does happen, not only that it will only benefit us when faced with another Hurricane to help first responders get to areas that would normally be flooded and to keep damages to a minimum.

The areas in green are low lying areas, in light blue are new areas that would be affected by only 1 foot of water

Plastic Pollution in our local fish- UR Allie

Introduction

More than eight million tons of plastic are abandoned in our oceans every year and unfortunately marine life is subjected to the impacts. Plastic pollution confuses marine animals and ultimately poisons the natural environment. Naturally curious animals like fish tend to nibble on plastic and often get tangled up in the pollution. This may result in severe mutations and deathly harm to many species. Plastic is a man made material unable to naturally decompose in the environment or digest as part of the normal diet. Internal plastic accumulation is proven to lead to blockages that shut down the digestive tract and cause death. Plastic has a decay rate of about 400 years and each year we produce more and more of it. Studies held by a team of scientists from the University of Georgia, California, Santa Barbara and Sea Education Association conduct the first ever global analysis and current statistic on plastic (Geyer et al. 2017). These researchers have discovered About half of the total amount of plastics manufactured from 1950 to 2015, have been produced in the last 13 years alone. This implies the pace of plastic production is only speeding up, even though most products are only used once before disposal. The researchers also discovered that by 2015, people had produced 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics, 6.3 billion tons of which had already become waste. Within the total waste, a mere 9 percent was recycled, 12 percent was incinerated and 79 percent resides in landfills or the natural environment- such as the ocean.

What is known

•Waterways are polluted with harmful toxic non-biodegradable material and disrupts natural habitats. (Stifferlin, 2015)

•Plastic ingestion can cause internal damages such as ulcerations and partial blockages of digestive tract resulting in starvation and death. (Macklin, 2018)

•Ingestion is noticed in both predatory fish and filter-feeders. Predatory fish can mistake plastic for food while filter-feeders sometimes ingest them unintentionally while feeding. (Blastic, 2016)

What is unknown

•Local studies of the microplastic ingestion by fish

•Studies on physical damage and excretion processes in the gastrointestinal tract of fish

•Clear differences in the amount of plastics ingested between pelagic and benthic fish

•A relationship between fish feeding habits/ diet and liability to consume plastics

Dissecting Whiting and extracting stomach

Searching for microplastics

Scientific Question

Are local fish ingesting plastic? 

Materials 

Microscope used for fish dissection

•Fish ID guide

•Measuring tape

•Camera

•Dissecting kit

•Petri dish

•Dissecting microscope

•HCl solution and pipette

•Hot plate

Methods

•Dead fish were collected from numerous location sites in Daytona Beach, FL. Each fish was measured for fork length and identified by species with the use of a fish ID guide.

•The fishes’ remains were preserved and transported to the laboratory for further examination.

•In the lab, a knife was used to cut horizontally along the abdomen of the fishes’ belly. A general fish anatomy diagram was used to remove the stomach and digestive tract.

•Utensils from the dissection kit were used to cut and dissect the contents to complete a visual survey. If microplastic fibers were discovered, they were removed, rinsed with distilled water and placed in a petri dish to be inspected under the microscope.

•Found substances were then tested by pouring HCl dilute on top of substance. This test determines if substance is composed of CaCO₃ shell material or white/ opaque plastic. If the dilute bubbles/ reacts to the substance then it can be identified as shell material.

•The substance was also tested for plastic material by applying heat to a metal and touching the hot end to the fiber. If the material shrivels up and melts, determine this to be a plastic.

General fish anatomy

Results

            After collecting, preserving and individually dissecting each fish under a microscope, one microplastic fiber (<1 cm) was found out of 11 locally caught fish. The species examined include 3 Mullet, 1 Catfish, 4 Bluefish, 1 Atlantic Croaker, 1 Whiting and 1 Pompano. This one microplastic fiber found was located in the digestive tract of a 44 cm Bluefish. This finding was tested and confirmed by the HCl dilute and heat reaction tests.

Microplastic fiber (<1 cm) found in 44 cm Bluefish

Bluefish dissected

Pompano stomach

Whiting ready for dissection

Pompano Stomach
dissected

44 cm Bluefish

The stomach of Bluefish

Discussions & Conclusions

After harvesting and dissecting 6 species of fish, it’s determined that microplastic fibers are being consumed by local fish. 

Errors

•Results could be affected by not rinsing possible plastic with distilled water before completing the HCl dilution test substance for CaCO₃ shell material or plastic. This could interfere with the determining substance composition.

•Acquiring information from remains of the fish guts is very difficult. The visibility when inspecting the guts for microplastics is low because the remains are covered in blood, bodily fluids and liquids.

Suggestions for Future Research

•A chemical analysis of fish guts may reveal more data. By extensively studying the fish guts by involving a chemical analysis of the composition, this method could exhibit more sensitivity to the presence of plastics. 

Bibliography 

University of Georgia . “More than 8.3 Billion Tons of Plastics Made: Most Has Now Been Discarded.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 19 July 2017, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170719140939.htm.

European Union. “Plastic Ingestion by Fish.” Blastic, 2017, www.blastic.eu/knowledge-bank/impacts/plastic-ingestion/fish/.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Here's How Much Plastic Ends Up In the World's Oceans.” Time, Time, 12 Feb. 2015, time.com/3707112/plastic-in-the-ocean/.

Macklin, Malorie. “Is It Really Worth the Convenience? 6 Ways Plastic Is Harming Animals, the Planet and Us.” One Green Planet, 23 Nov. 2017, www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/how-plastic-is-harming-animals-the-planet-and-us/.

Cynthia UR Sorting

The Sorting for Graphing Begin

Start with removing any sand or biomass picked up along with data.

I need to measure some of the smaller pieces to possible qualify for micro- plastic (less than 5mm).

I marked gram equivalents levels using a few simple kitchen tools and a conversion chart.

Method:

Remove and separate large pieces, wrappers and paper from trash

Remove cigarette butts, placing in holding bins

Remove debris (natural biomass)

Remove and separate foams and rope from other plastics

Measure each in grams and record.

Created graphs and finished citations today.
I should have a little something more tomorrow night.

The sifting process began with South site; the amount of cigarettes, I really wanted them gone first. 

Cigarette butts are Cellulose Acetate based materials.

Cellulose being naturally accruing plant fiber that is treated with acetic anhydride in the presents of a catalyst, then dissolved in acetone to yield a semi-synthetic fiber that spun, create filament used to make a “tow” that is cut to order by the cigarette companies, or fabricated into rayon or cellophane. 

They’re nearly as synthetic as pure plastic and hang around quite a while.

Tare = 7.00oz

Because of their light mass they’re wicked difficult to weigh; so to illustrate the space they assume, my original thought to show a volume. This was flawed for use with plastics that unless pulverized could not be measured in the same manor.  I began again using ounces in order to capture their weight and translate that into grams for the final graphing. 

I missed picking trash on Friday April 20^th. (between school and work)

I should’ve been factoring in circumstances and conditions that could arise to ensure my timing is fair between the sites. (I am curious if one site is more prone to garbage then the other).

Harris, Bradford. (2011).The intractable cigarette ‘filter problem’. Tobacco Control 20:i10-i16. Retrieved from http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/i10

I will leave you for now with this entry from last weekend, and a graph from that day.

04/21/18 and 04/22/2018

It was a windy Saturday morning (16mph) that nearly turned me away, but the weather yesterday will be with us for the next few days.

I started at 8:10am before the rain, there was strong waves and low tide had been at 7:02am, small pieces of plastic left tiny line trails were they had traveled along sand before coming to a halt and I wonder if they were kicked out with the light foam. More polystyrene then before, much if these quarter inch pieces were rolling down critter holes before I could stop them.

I picked up more small pieces of plastic today than before. Conditions kept the sand mostly undisturbed (without feet prints).

A Volusia County employee drove up to empty the trash and recycle receptacles while I was there. They come every morning about 6:30 am, but today he cleaned up cans that spilled from a container that fell over in the wind. After they empty the containers and any large articles of debris on the beach, they spend the remainder of their shift picking trash areas they observe. 

Michelle (UR) - Persistence DOES pay off

So much for a disposable cup.

Weighing out alginate powder.

Alginate gel, mixed and ready to be dried.

After allowing my alginate mold to air dry for 7 days, there was a massive hole in the bottom. This made it useless as a disposable cup. However, I was not ready to give up. I decided to attempt my original idea again, this time using the alginate as a skimmer instead of a filter. After watching the alginate consistently dry with holes, I decided to lower my ratio of powder to water to 1:1. Using 6.0636g powder and 6mL distilled water, I mixed the gel and pressed it into a dish. I dried it in the Isotemp oven at 120°C for 15 minutes.

To prepare for the skimmer test, I filled a beaker with 300mL of water. Using sand that was known to contain microplastics, I mixed 3 scoops into the beaker and stirred it around a bit. I then used forceps to hold a piece of alginate gel, and skimmed it around the water.

If my hands hadn't been full, I'd have had my fingers crossed.

The organic material was stuck to the gel

After multiple failures, my hopes were not high. However, previous tests had resulted in alginate that was very strong once re-wet, so I did not expect the alginate to fall apart. When I removed the gel from the water, I could see organic material stuck to its surface. I placed the alginate in a dish and immediately looked under the microscope at it. The results were outstanding. Six pieces of microplastics were found on the first sample. After photographing each, I attempted to replicate the results using 2 other pieces of the gel. The results were spectacular. The least amount was 4 pieces, on the smallest sample.

Graph depicting the amounts of microplastics in each sample

Microplastics come in many different forms, and I found quite a few different shapes and sizes. Hopefully future research will scale up these tests, and attempt to use the alginate skimmer in different saline environments. If the alginate withstands salinity, it should be tested in the ocean and rivers to determine its strength in currents. I hope that my research project shows not only the potential for alginate as a solution to the problem of microplastics in our waterways, but also that you should never give up on your ideas. Just keep trying, no matter how crazy your idea seems.

A blue microfiber captured by the alginate skimmer.

A black microfiber captured by the alginate skimmer.

A piece of blue microplastic captured by the alginate skimmer.

Mission accomplished! Niki UR

After weeks of collecting and lab work and analyzing, the results are in!


 GPS map of the sample locations. A second sample was taken in the Indian River North while we were on the boat and saw a visible difference in the surface waters of the water coming out of the creek versus the water closer to the bank on ocean side. One sample was taken during an incoming flood tide in the Ponce Inlet, and the remaining four samples were taken during an outgoing ebb tide.
Upon data analysis I discovered that the Indian River Lagoon samples were likely impacted by the creek water, which is connected to the Halifax River through a system of creeks more inland. It is difficult to determine the direction of water flow on ebb tide, and therefore I cannot confidently or accurately report how the Indian River Lagoon samples contribute to the Ponce Inlet.



The dissolved oxygen for all of the samples taken were within the range for a healthy system, 6 mg/L and 8 mg/L. The Ponce Inlet flood tide contained the lowest amounts of dissolved oxygen, and the Indian River Lagoon 1 sample had the highest. The high value of the IRL 1 could have been due to the 21 mph winds over the water that day.

The Total Nitrogen levels are within the acceptable threshold, although I cannot explain why there is such a great difference in the measurements from the Indian River Lagoon 1 and 2. The influx of water from the Rockhouse Creeks system could have impacted this measurement, causing the Indian River Lagoon 1 sample to contain more anthropological run off.

 Total Phosphorus was higher than the threshold in the Ponce Inlet (0.04 and 0.05 mg/L), which was likely caused by the high quantity of the phosphorus in the Halifax River (0.06 mg/L) flowing into the inlet with the
 ebb tide. The two samples from the Indian River Lagoon measured below the threshold (0.01 and 0.02 mg/L).


 The pH of freshwater tends to be more acidic, while ocean water has an average pH of 8.1. The Ponce Inlet directs more  basic ocean water (pH 6.2) through the Indian River Lagoon (pH 6.7, 6.8) and less through the Halifax River (6.6).

 The Ponce Inlet flood tide from the Atlantic Ocean contained the most amount of plastic fibers per mL, 0.162 while the Indian River Lagoon 2 only contained 0.08 plastic fibers per mL.

The Salinity of the Ponce Inlet flood tide is, as expected, the highest at 35 ppt, coming in from the ocean, the Halifax River had the lowest salinity, while still remaining a brackish system.

Questions 

Jessy 101w Would you expect there to be big differences between the waters coming in from the Halifax and Indian River Lagoon? What are the differences between their sources of input like street runoff vs streams or rivers, etc.?

I was not sure going into this experiment how big the differences would be between the two Rivers, or what they would be. I know that the Indian River Lagoon is quite polluted and experiencing an algae bloom farther south. The Indian River Lagoon also connects to the Atlantic Ocean through five inlets, which can add and remove nutrients from the water system.

 The Halifax River runs from Ormond Beach to the Ponce Inlet, and although the river flows through several State Parks and Preserves, it also passes through residential and business areas and therefore receives runoff and pollution.

Katie UR: Its Proposal Season Guys !

Proposal

Bacteria: The Untold Story From a Sharks Mouth

An investigation on what bacteria inhabits the mouths of sharks and which of those bacteria are considered dangerous if they are transferred to a human during a bite.

Introduction

There is a preconceived idea that sharks attack in order to feed. This could be no further from the truth. Over 400 species of sharks inhabit our waters, ranging from the 8-inch dwarf Lantershark to the 40-foot-long Whale Shark (WWF,2018). Out of that 400 species of sharks, 35 Species are known to have attacked humans at least once, and a dozen of them habitually do so. Sharks are carnivorous and eat fish and other larger animals including humans. Between 2001 and 2011 an average of 59% of shark attacks took place in U.S Waters, Florida being one of the top spots for them To happen in (Elert, 2012). The teeth on a shark are not its only weapons they possess. Sharks harbor deadly and even drug-resistant bacteria that can cause extreme damage to the person who was bitten by them. Gram Staining has been a known test that can differentiate two large groups of bacteria based on their different cell wall constituents (Bruckner,2016). This test has been used in previous studies following the bacteria that reside in a sharks mouth.

What is Known

Nathan R. Unger and Colleagues did a study on Isolated Bacteria found in Blacktips (Carcharhinus limbatus)

Majority of shark attacks on Florida beaches occur over on the Atlantic Ocean side in Volusia County (FloridaLife 2009)

Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio fluvialis, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus have been found in Great White Sharks that and common to infections in humans     (Burk,1996)

 Vibrio parahaemolyticus

143  drug-resistant species of bacteria were swabbed from the genital cavity of a handful of species were resistant to penicillin, ciprofloxacin and doxycycline (DNEWS,2013)

What is Unknown

What bacteria inhabits other shark species mouths

Which of these bacteria are harmful to humans

Scientific Question

Are there variations in the types of bacteria found in the mouth of sharks? What is the classification of these bacteria?

Materials

Field Materials

Swabbing Device

Hooks

Grade Line

Wire Line

Bite Down Stick

Boat

Rod

Frozen and Live Bait

Microbiological Materials

BBL CultureSwab Plus (Traveling swabs)

Petri Dishes- TSA, MacConkey, and sheep's blood

Gloves

Methods

Catching The Shark

1.Wherever we fish at we cast net fresh bait and also bring frozen mullet and squid.

2.The rod had 16’ hooks on them and the rods that were used were Pen Fierce 8000, Pen 9/0, and Pen GTI.

3.Once a Shark is caught the fork length, length and sex will be taken.

4.The shark will have a wet towel over the snout and face while the swab is being taken so the shark will be kept calm.

5.The shark will be released afterwards.

             Getting The Samples

1.Using the homemade device, attach the swab to the end.

2.Swab the back of the teeth and mouth.

3.Place swab into transport container and then into cooler.

Microbiological Testing

1.Once the tubes are brought back to the lab they will be streaked along the agar plates presented.

2.We will allow growth to begin and then classify the bacteria on the plates.

Then determine if the bacteria is harmful to humans.

I am getting really excited to be able to present this on May 4th. Its going to be amazing and I cant wait to see where I can go with this project!

Work Cited

1.Contributor, A Manly Guest. “How to Catch a Shark.” The Art of Manliness, 28 Nov. 2017, www.artofmanliness.com/2014/08/15/how-to-catch-and-release-a-shark/.

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2.“Florida Beaches Shark Facts.” Florida Shark Facts - Florida Beaches - Florida Beach Vacation - Shark Attack, www.florida-beach-lifestyle.com/shark-facts.html.

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3.“Shark.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/species/shark

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4.Maniguet, Xavier. The Jaws of Death: Sharks as Predator, Man as Prey. Skyhorse Pub., 2007.

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5.DNews. “Sharks Harbor Deadly Bacteria : Discovery News.” Seeker, Seeker, 11 Feb. 2013, www.seeker.com/sharks-harbor-deadly-bacteria-discovery-news-1766489348.html

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6.Unger, Nathan R., et al. “Antibiotic Susceptibilities of Bacteria Isolated within the Oral Flora of Florida Blacktip Sharks: Guidance for Empiric Antibiotic Therapy.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, Aug. 2014, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0104577.

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7.“Visualized: Worldwide Shark Attacks Since 2000.” Popular Science, 17 Aug. 2012, Buck, J D, et al. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 1984, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC271456/

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8.“Foodborne Pathogen Information.” NMSU: Food Safety Laboratory | Pathogen Information (MSDS), fsl.nmsu.edu/laboratory-safety.html.

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9. www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-08/worldwide-shark-attacks-2000