The greatest human impact on the water quality of Barnegat Bay is irrigation. Irrigation occurs when water is added to land or crops in order to aid in growth. In the northern parts of the bay, where “peak nitrogen levels have been recorded”, many homeowners continually use lawn fertilizers which carry nutrients in the runoff produced (Seitzinger 6). In addition to being a problem in the northern Barnegat Bay area, in the past few years, “the pollution problem is now being magnified by increased development in southern Ocean County, creating the same ecological hazard in the lower part of the bay” (Moore 1). This contributes to nutrient loading, which is when an ecosystem has a high amount of nutrients entering it in a short amount of time.
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Dissolved oxygen is an important parameter to test because all organisms living in a body of water need dissolved oxygen in order to survive. For aquatic organisms, 4 ppm is “the minimum amount needed” of dissolved oxygen in order to sustain life (Oram 1). If high dissolved oxygen values are recorded, this could indicate that the water has an increase in bacteria. Photosynthetic bacterias, such as the cyanobacteria that makes up algal blooms, produce oxygen through photosynthesis. It is important to record dissolved oxygen values because dissolved oxygen has an impact on the life of organisms as well as the production of algal blooms. Total nitrogen, while it is an essential nutrient for aquatic plants that aids in growth, can harm all of the organisms that live in a body of water if the levels are too high. In addition to algal blooms, high levels of nitrogen can lead to low dissolved oxygen levels. This occurs because when the nutrients are so high that the fish are unable to survive, when they decay their bacteria consumes oxygen. This can lead to hypoxia, or low oxygen amounts in a body of water. When hypoxia occurs, many of the organisms living in the body of water do not have enough oxygen to survive and therefore die. Turbidity, or the relative clarity of the water, is also an important parameter. Turbidity is a visible …show more content…
This is because three different parameters are being tested, so a t-test is unable to be used. The ANOVA test will determine whether or not there is a statistical difference in the data collected. Only data sets within the same season will be compared; four different one-way ANOVA tests will be run. It will compare all of data using variance, or how far the data is spread out. The data looked at in this study can indicate whether or not there are any water quality problems in Barnegat Bay in a specific season, for example, high total nitrogen values in the spring compared to the other seasons. In order to test dissolved oxygen, the Winkler titration method will be used. The Winkler titration method is considered the most accurate way to measure dissolved oxygen. The LaMotte R-5860 kit can be used to measure dissolved oxygen, which can be obtained from the LaMotte website. In order to test this parameter, the instructions in the Water Quality Test Kit Instruction Manual included in the kit should be followed. Total nitrogen can be tested using the Kjeldahl method, the most accurate way to test total nitrogen. In order to test this, a Kjeldahl apparatus can be used, which can be obtained from the VELP Scientifica website. In order to conduct the Kjeldahl method, the instructions that come with this specific apparatus should be followed. Turbidity can be measured using a LaMotte 2020we Portable Turbidity meter which
Dissolved oxygen is an important parameter to test because all organisms living in a body of water need dissolved oxygen in order to survive. For aquatic organisms, 4 ppm is “the minimum amount needed” of dissolved oxygen in order to sustain life (Oram 1). If high dissolved oxygen values are recorded, this could indicate that the water has an increase in bacteria. Photosynthetic bacterias, such as the cyanobacteria that makes up algal blooms, produce oxygen through photosynthesis. It is important to record dissolved oxygen values because dissolved oxygen has an impact on the life of organisms as well as the production of algal blooms. Total nitrogen, while it is an essential nutrient for aquatic plants that aids in growth, can harm all of the organisms that live in a body of water if the levels are too high. In addition to algal blooms, high levels of nitrogen can lead to low dissolved oxygen levels. This occurs because when the nutrients are so high that the fish are unable to survive, when they decay their bacteria consumes oxygen. This can lead to hypoxia, or low oxygen amounts in a body of water. When hypoxia occurs, many of the organisms living in the body of water do not have enough oxygen to survive and therefore die. Turbidity, or the relative clarity of the water, is also an important parameter. Turbidity is a visible …show more content…
This is because three different parameters are being tested, so a t-test is unable to be used. The ANOVA test will determine whether or not there is a statistical difference in the data collected. Only data sets within the same season will be compared; four different one-way ANOVA tests will be run. It will compare all of data using variance, or how far the data is spread out. The data looked at in this study can indicate whether or not there are any water quality problems in Barnegat Bay in a specific season, for example, high total nitrogen values in the spring compared to the other seasons. In order to test dissolved oxygen, the Winkler titration method will be used. The Winkler titration method is considered the most accurate way to measure dissolved oxygen. The LaMotte R-5860 kit can be used to measure dissolved oxygen, which can be obtained from the LaMotte website. In order to test this parameter, the instructions in the Water Quality Test Kit Instruction Manual included in the kit should be followed. Total nitrogen can be tested using the Kjeldahl method, the most accurate way to test total nitrogen. In order to test this, a Kjeldahl apparatus can be used, which can be obtained from the VELP Scientifica website. In order to conduct the Kjeldahl method, the instructions that come with this specific apparatus should be followed. Turbidity can be measured using a LaMotte 2020we Portable Turbidity meter which