Mohawk River Watershed

Introduction The starch factory stream is located in Proctor Park in Utica, NY. This stream eventually flows into the Mohawk River. It is located on the Mohawk River watershed. The Mohawk River Watershed contains “4,086 miles of fresh water rivers and streams.” (McGivern 1). A water shed is the section of land in which run off “drains” into a “common outlet” (Lattuca 123 and Raven et.al. 66). The Environmental lab students conducted this study to answer few questions like: is the water less polluted than before, can this stream support some type of life or is this stream up to standards for drinking water. The goal of this study was to examine the stream’s abiotic and biotic factors to further examine how natural and human activities impact …show more content…
An example of this, according to Raven, Berg and Hassenzahl, is “an organism in an environment” (43). Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Benthos are all living or biotic organisms this study examined in the starch factory stream. Phytoplankton are, according to Raven, Berg and Hassenzahl, “free-floating photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria that form the base of most aquatic food webs” (124). Phytoplankton is green when examined in a microscope while zooplankton is not. Zooplankton are defined as “nonphotosynthetic organism that include protozoa (animal-like protists), tiny shrimplike crustaceans, and the larval (immature) stages of many animals.” Benthos are not small microscopic organisms like zooplankton and phytoplankton. Raven, Berg and Hassenzahl define Benthos as “bottom-dwelling organisms that fix themselves to one spot, burrow into the sand, or simply walk about on the …show more content…
A flow meter was used to measure the flow rate of the stream. A meter stick was used to measure the meter intervals where the width of the stream was measured using a 50-meter tape. A Plankton net and a Benthos net were used to collect plankton and benthos specimen that were put in a specimen jar. A water sample was collected to measure the dissolved oxygen in the water, phosphate in the water, nitrate in the water and the hardness of the water. Three hach kits were used to measure three different properties of the water of the stream. The Dissolved Oxygen hatch kit was used to measure the dissolved oxygen in the water. The Nitrate hach kit was used to measure the Nitrate (NO_3) in milligrams per liter. The Phosphate hach kit was used to measure the Phosphate (PO_4) in the stream water also in milligrams per liter. The LaMotte hardness test kit was used to test the hardness of the water. An objective microscope and a slide were used to examine the sample from the stream for phytoplankton, benthos and zooplankton. A thermometer was used to measure the temperature of the water and the air in degrees Celsius