Ray UR No data, no problem.

This blog that I wrote earlier this semester when I came to a road block in my project, but never got around to publishing.

 I have been waiting to post a blog after I had received some data on my IRP. However, finding surveys and information on the Roseate Spoonbill has proven to be more difficult than expected. 
Since I remember seeing these birds in the Timucuan Ecological Preserve North of Jacksonville, I thought it could look through bird surveys that have been taken in that area.  Bird survey’s are conducted about once every month at multiple locations in the park. Every time a species of bird is spotted a count is taken, its coordinates are recorded on a gps along with a general description of the bird, like if it is a juvenile or adult. Unfortunately, most bird surveys are raw data recorded on a piece of paper, and sometimes never put into an actual database. This is exactly the type of data I was sent when I made my request. 

  First I had to find out what the abbreviation was for the Roseate Spoonbill, and then I had to hand pick my locations. Even though I know the area pretty well it was hard finding the surveys location for the marsh that I had in mind. Plus, I would need to go through years of these kind of surveys. This process is not going to work, not with the amount of time I have to complete my project. I will continuing to try and find a more organized database. I may have to reach out to the professionals.. 

Ray UR What is Next

 At the beginning of my four month semester I struggled to pick a topic for my independent research project. I am a believer in climate change and I thought that it would be best to choose a subject directly related to the issue. Although, throughout my time in the park service I always wanted to take the time and research this one interesting pink bird, the Roseate Spoonbill. When I chose to research the bird for my project it didn't seem nearly as important as my other classmates topics like, sea level rise or micro-plastics. Until I started my research and found that this particular pink bird has only been researched by a handful of other people. Since it was difficult finding information on the mysterious life of this unique bird, I thought it would be best to reach out to the professionals at the Audubon Society. One researcher, Peter Frezza, has also taken particular interest in the Roseate Spoonbill. Peter works down in the everglades, which provides very important nesting habitat for these birds. He agreed that they are making movements north, and even mentioned a friend seeing them as far as South Carolina. Considering that I wanted to see exactly how far north Spoonbills were going in the winter months, he suggested I use the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count database. The bird count will tell me how many times my bird has been sited in a particular location each year during the same time of year. However, the surveyors are human, so only the birds that can be seen are recorded. Some years will have missing data, mostly due to the lack of volunteers for that year.

*Graph is based off results in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count database found at; http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/Historical/ResultsBySpecies.aspx?1

•In the year 2015 a notable amount of Roseate Spoonbills were surveyed north of their historic distribution range during the winter season. 

•The resulting steady presence of Roseate Spoonbills being seen as far as Ace Basin, SC in the winter months surpassed my expectations of their northern dispersal.

 Now that I know that Roseate Spoonbills are dispersing further north in the winter months I would like to know why, and so would many other bird experts. The first hunch that I had, and many people have, is that this is some sort of result from climate change. Roseate Spoonbills are a neo-tropical bird species (Dumas 2000). However, South Carolina has cold winters and nearly had record breaking snowfall this past January. Click here to see news article. That is extremely harsh weather for a Roseate Spoonbill to be tolerating. I would like to know what they are seeking this far north, and why they have returned over the past four years. I am going find information on their foraging requirements and see there is a particular food source that is now being found in marsh habitats further north. I would also like discover if their is any sort of mention of the Roseate Spoonbills abundance in the 18th centaury, before they were hunted to near extinction in the plume-era trade of the late 19th century.  I wonder if their populations are returning to what they were before being hunted, and if this rebound is having an effect on their post nesting season dispersal.

More research to come!

Dumas, J. V.. 2000. Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.490 

Ray UR Late Response

One of my fellow classmates has asked me a great question about my research on the Roseate Spoonbill. She asks, "Have you gone back to determine what the temperature was the day you took that picture? What is their preferred temperature range?

  I am not sure what the temperature was for that day, my memory fails me. However, I do know from the NOAA website that the average temperature for Daytona Beach, in January was actually 3 degrees below average, at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The Roseate Spoonbill is a neotropical bird species that prefers warmer temperatures (Dumas 2000). Most of their population resides in Cuba, but they are commonly seen in the Florida everglades as it is a great foraging and nesting habitat for them.

Dumas, J. V.. 2000. Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.490 


NOAA National Centers for Environmental information, Climate at a Glance: Statewide Time Series, published April 2018, retrieved on May 2, 2018 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag

Hannah Vu-Bennett (UR) - The final product!

Introduction:

Florida's system of aquifers is divided into three major systems, the surficial aquifer system, the intermediate aquifer system, and the Floridian aquifer system. Florida aquifers consist of carbonate rock, made up almost entirely of calcite or dolomite which has high porosity and is highly permeable.

An aquifer is a layer of sediment that transmits groundwater. Aquifers are susceptible to contaminates due to the high porosity and permeability of Florida’s geology. Aquifers are typically assessed based on their vulnerability to contaminates before being open to public consumption. Water-resource decision makers conduct vulnerability assessments to assess a ground-water resources likelihood to contamination depending on intrinsic susceptibility as well as the locations and types of sources of naturally occurring and anthropogenic contamination, 

relative locations of wells, and the fate and transport of the contaminant(s).  

Specifically, to Volusia County, our groundwater’s health can be impacted by coastal urbanization, saltwater intrusion, over-pumping, leachate from a landfill, treatment plants, and agricultural/livestock production farms. Natural disasters, for example Hurricane Irma, could have especially affected our local aquifers due to flooding and storm surges.

What is Known?

    The surficial aquifer system and the Floridian aquifer system is Volusia County’s main sources of groundwater. (USGS)

    Well water owners are more vulnerable to possible contaminated water due to private, self-managed filtration systems. (EPA, 2015)

    Water quality regulation limits: Copper- 1 mg/L, pH- 6.05 to 8.5, Nitrate 10.0 mg/L, salinity 0.5 ppt (FDEP, 2018)

Scientific Question:

Is there evidence of harmful pollutants or abnormalities throughout Volusia County’s aquifers?

If abnormalities are found, what can we conclude on the health and quality of our groundwater. 

Materials:

1.    500 mL amber-colored Nalgene water sampling bottle. 

2.    Refractometer used to measure salinity.

3.    DR/890 HACH Colormeter used to measure total phosphate, nitrate, and copper.

4.    HACH HQ 11d used to measure pH level.

5.    20X-40X Binocular Stereo Dissecting Microscope 

6.    MaximaDry Fisher Scientific Vacuum Pump.

7.    Distilled water

8.    3% HCl acid 

Methods:

1.    500 mL amber-colored Nalgene bottles were distributed to well-water owning classmates. 

2.    Students were instructed to sample their well water before entering a filtration system.

3.    All sample bottles were properly stored and transported back to the lab in cool packs.

4.    Water samples were analyzed for salinity using the refractometer. 

5.    pH was measured using the HACH HQ 11d.

6.    Water sample were then filtered using the MaximaDry Fisher Scientific Vacuum Pump. 

7.    Filtered papers were stored for future references and later observed under the 20X-40X Binocular Stereo Dissecting Microscope. 

8.    Using the DR/890 HACH Colormeter, filtered samples were then transferred to clean Nalgene bottles and analyzed for total nitrate using method 10021, total phosphate using method 8048, and copper using method .

9.    Data was collected and displayed.

Results:

The results of what was filtered out of the water samples were quite interesting. After the filtration process was complete, a noticeable yellow film was observed from site 2. Site 3 had a large quantity of microfibers. Site 2 did not have as many concerning extremities as the other two sites that as discussed. We were unable to salvage site 3’s filtration paper. The filtration paper used during the filtration process was observed under a 20X-40X Binocular Stereo Dissecting Microscope. Below is a series of pictures of the 3 salvaged filtration papers. The top series were taken without the microscope, while the bottom was taken with a microscope for better detail. As represented in figure 9, remnants of total dissolved solids can be clearly show. It was unclear what these transparent minerals were. We tested the minerals by dropping 3% HCl to determine if it was calcium carbonate. After it tested negative for calcium, we saturated the paper with water to test for salt. When the mineral began to dissolve we concluded they were salt remains. In site 1 and site 3, we observed 1 microfiber in each sample. In site 3, there were more sediment remains that site 1. Site 1 had the cleaned filtered sample of the 3 sites observed.

When compare the locations of my samples to my results, several theories are brought to attention, pertaining to the health and quality of Volusia County’s aquifers. Site 1 was the most inland water sample, while the other three sites were closer to the coast. Site 1 had the lowest salinity due to it being the furthest from the ocean. Site 2 and 3 had relatively high salinity levels which could indicate the development of saltwater encroachment. Remains of salt were also found in site 2 samples. This was confirmed by dissolving the found salt with distilled water. The pH in site 1 was the highest of the 4 sites. This may be due to the fact that site 1 location is surrounded by springs. Although site 3 pH level were within EPA guidelines, its pH was the most acidic. The owner of site 3 Has stated that their well has suffered from over pumping which could be a result in the low pH. 

In conclusion, despite seeing some slightly concerning results such as the high salinity level in site 2 and 3 and the salt remnants in site 2, no significant abnormalities have occurred in this groundwater studies. The results concluded to be within EPA guidelines.

Transect map of the locations in
which water samples were taken. 

Future Proposed Scientific Research 

            As the groundwater quality study IRP comes to an end, many opportunities are presented to further and expand future groundwater quality studies. Throughout this IRP, basic test has been conducted on several water samples taken from well water in residential homes. In the future, the main goal would be to research areas whose water is more likely to be affected by contaminates. For example, concentrate sample sites in well water homes in the vicinity of landfills, large agricultural operations, etc. These specific sites will be tested for volatile organic contaminates. In order to test for more extreme contaminates, specific equipment would need to be to continue these studies. 

Id like to thank everyone who helped me conduct this study! 

Bibliography:

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

2. “Drinking Water Quality Reports.” Volusia County, www.volusia.org/services/public-works/water-resources-and-utilities/drinking-water-quality-reports.stml.

3.“National Primary Drinking Water Regulation.” EPA, www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/npwdr_complete_table.pdf.

4. “National Water-Quality Assessment.” USGS NAWQA: Regional Assessments of Principal Aquifers, water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/praq/flordn/index.html.

5.“Florida Springs Institute” - Floridan Aquifer, floridaspringsinstitute.org/floridan-aquifer.

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

Cynthia UR The poster was successful.

Unfortunately, the presentation will be disconcerting for I’ve been aware of the global trash problem since I was a small child in Garden Grove CA during the sixties.  

Then when my daughter was in High school she asked if I had heard of the great Pacific garbage patch, and she told me what it was and how it was half the size of Texas.  

So here we are, another ten years later, and many wonder; 

when will we stop doing business as usual?

The conversations get to become tedious when compared to the endless, continuous bombardment of single use plastic convenience bags, cups, straws, and coffee stirrers.

Then there are the photos of congested rivers, animals whose guts are filled with human handiness that break my heart; and it all just seems that for many this is all so unrelated.

  

The graphs articulate a random survey on our own local beach, no different a beach then what lie along the entire Florida coast.

The filters on one pack of 20 cigarettes weigh 0.12 ounces (about 3.40g with no tobacco included and displaces a volume of 10 ml). 

My count of 272.15g is equal then to 80 packs of cigarettes in three days over 1913.05m₂, that’s 

(2288 sq.yds), roughly equal to about a third of a football field in three days.

Daily increases on the north site of cigarettes came to 29.2g per day average; or 8.5 packs a day worth of filters on an area of shoreline less a quarter acre in size. 

The plastic count (all types) for same site showed an increase of 49.04g per day, this included straws, coffee stirrers, and vinyls used in construction not meant to ever store food in or be left in sunlight; it’s all growing…. All adding up.  

This survey took place where it is picked up by Volusia County and by volunteers.

This litter crime goes unpunished and we continue to tolerate despite the cost to clean it up.

The day has come, what is provided to keep it cleaned up isn’t enough;

I wonder what we will do now.

It's not too difficult to surmise why so much plastic ends up in the ocean

(Parker N.G.S.).

Thanks to Dr Woodall for providing focus and guidance.

Augustus (UR) What goes Down must come back Up

Something interesting I found while preparing for my presentation tomorrow, were historical local data of Barometric Pressure during on of the strongest hurricanes to hit Florida, Hurricane Andrew. So as Andrew approached Florida it created a pressure of 926 mBar which is about 1 atmosphere of pressure and also 926 hPa, from previous research we see the relationship of 1 hPa to 1 cm of water. The average barometric pressure is about 30 inHg which equals about 1013 hPa, showing that hurricane Andrew effectively rose the water level 87 cm or 34.25 inches (almost 3 feet), that is staggering and no wonder it created so much damage. Most sea walls were built to only stop 2 feet of water so water would have just flowed over sea walls in coastal cities. Now for a more recent example, Irma had the lowest pressure of a storm recorded in the Atlantic ever, it produced a pressure of 915 mBar or 915 hPa. Effectively raising water levels to 38.5 inches above normal (above 3 feet). I found that extremely interesting to see exactly how much unseen chaos hurricanes can create before they even make landfall. Barometric Pressure is generally a indicator of how powerful the storm is, with lower pressures meaning more powerful storms.

Infrared image of Irma provided by NOAA

One more thing.. UR-Allie

My IRP provided positive results for my scientific question. Local fish in Daytona Beach are in fact consuming microplastics. With the collection and harvest of 11 fish of 6 species, one microplastic fiber has been recovered. In the future I hope to collect more data that will support my study. Perhaps a new method other than conducting a visual survey for plastic extraction would provide this study with better results. A chemical analysis of the contents could show more sensitivity to plastic and possibly display more findings. (Not to mention its very hard to sift through bloody and wet innards).

Graph displaying data of plastic (<1cm) found in local fish.

One more thing..
During the time I spent this semester enrolled in Oceanography lab with Dr. Woodall, I learned so many things. From graphing and interpreting data to learning how to  successfully extract a fish otolith, this semester was nothing short but a journey. The hands on experience in the field and being introduced to how to develop an independent research project has expanded my mind and has made me a better student. I thank Dr. Woodall and this program for allowing me to better understand science and the impact we- as future scientist have. Thanks for reading my blog and keep on questioning the way of the world.

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/.