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Measuring Factors of a Lake

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Measuring Factors of a Lake
Lab Activity #3: Collection and Identification of Plankton at Lake St.George
Discussion Questions 1. Phytoplankton are the organisms that were the most abundant in my sample, specifically from the Protista kingdom 2. I think that phytoplankton are more indicative of oligotrophic lakes, where-as zooplankton are more indicative of eutrophic lakes. I think this because, since phytoplankton are capable of producing their own energy, they don't need the nutrients that eutrophic lakes offer, and they would probably prefer all the sunlight in the oligotrophic lakes which they would need to photosynthesize. The opposite is true for zooplankton, they depend on the nutrients from eutrophic lakes and they do not enjoy sunlight. 3. If pool algaecide was spilled in Lake St.George it would greatly damage the natural habitat and it would be hazardous to the habitants of the lake. Also, because Lake St.George drains into other lakes, it would not only harm Lake St.George but it may also harm the lakes that it feeds into. 4. Phytoplankton -> Sarcodinians -> Krill Phytoplankton -> Crustaceans -> Cod Phytoplankton -> Ciliates -> Krill

Lab Activity #1: Measuring Abiotic Factors of Lake St.George
1. The depth profile of the lake shows that the lake is pretty much average. It is important to know the depth profile of a lake so you can develop an idea of the type of species that reside in the lake. 2. A fisherman might be interested in knowing the depth profile of a lake because the depth could possibly determine the species of fish that live in the lake. 3. The temperature profile of the lake was warmer then what I expected it to be at this time of year. Mainly because some parts of the lake were even warmer then it was outside. 4. The temperature profile of the lake from a few months ago would most likely be warmer because it was summer a few months ago and there was much warmer weather. 5. The epilimnion was from 0-6m into the water, the thermocline was 6m into the water, and the

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