Introduction: Seneca Lake is about 34.5 miles long. About 3.7 miles wide and has a depth of 630ft. So there could be a lot of different MacroInvertebrates in those 34.5 miles of water. The ecosystem has to be very diverse. There’s many different MacroInvertebrates in Seneca Lake. There’s crayfish, amphipod, stonefly larvae and mayfly larva.
The temperature of the lake varies. The lake can get as warm as 72 degrees fahrenheit and it can as cold as 38 degrees fahrenheit. So with that information, can we figure out if the depth at temperature of the water can impact what organisms we’ll find in the water? And does pH and Dissolved Oxygen levels play a role too? I’m very interested to see that part because in the experiments I have done coming up to this one, I’ve really never seen a correlation between pH/dissolved oxygen and what kind of organisms are in that area.
Research Question: How is the depth and temperature of the water affect what organisms we’re going to find in the water?
Hypothesis: I think the deeper/warmer part of the lake will be the most diverse. Since the lake is so deep, I feel like there’s much more room for different MacroInvertebrates. Also, in similar experiments they have found that the population of the lake is much more diverse in the deeper water than the shallow water.
Variable Identification:
Controlled Variable
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Method to control the variable
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Experimental Setup 
This lab was done on Seneca River in Geneva, New York.
This lab was done on Seneca River in Geneva, New York.
Procedure:
1.) Twist the end of the rope around one hand 2-3 times and grasp with a fist. Don't let go! This grip is to ensure the net isn't tossed overboard when it is cast.
2.)Make sure the clasp at the bottom of the net is closed! If it isn't, the sample will not be captured and the net will need to be recast.
3.) Lower the net over the side of the boat until it floats freely in the water. Walk slowly from the stern to the bow of the boat and then back again, gently dragging the net behind you. Try to walk at a steady pace so that the net stays at a fairly constant depth and does not scrape the side of the boat. Since water clarity is an indication of the presence of phytoplankton, use the secchi disk reading as an indicator of productivity. If the secchi disk reading is less than 7 meters, traverse the length of the boat twice. If it is greater than 7 meters, make 3-4 trips to make sure you collect enough plankton in your net.
4.) Back at the stern of the boat, gather the line up until the net is vertical, hanging freely, and level with the railing. Using the provided wash bottle (filled with tap or lake surface water, not distilled water), wash down any plankton clinging to the sides of the net into the small grey cup attached to the lower end of the net.
5.) Raise the net slightly, keeping it vertical. Grasp the grey sample cup and swing it on board, making sure not to spill the sample.
6.) Hold the provided plastic beaker under the sample cup and attached rubber tubing and release the tubing clamp, allowing the sample to flow into the beaker. If it appears that some sample has clung to the inside of the grey sample cup, carefully use a small amount of water from the wash bottle to rinse it into the beaker. You don't want to dilute the sample.
7.) The beaker can now be taken to the lab for analysis. Remember to rinse it out when the plankton sample is no longer needed (using either tap or distilled water) and replace it in the net box.
Data:
Sample 1 a
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Sample 1 b
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Sample 2 a
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Sample 2 b
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Sample 3 a
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Sample 3 b
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Latitude
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N 42D 49.940’
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N 42D 50.840’
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N 42D 51’
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N 42D 49.97’
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N 42D 51.491’’
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N 42D 51.554’’
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Longitude
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W 76D 57.970’
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W 76D 57.522’
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W 76D 58’
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W 76D 57.94’’
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W 76D 57.762’
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W 76D 57.562’
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Sample temp.
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13D Celsius
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7D Celsius
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13D Celsius
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7D Celsius
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13D Celsius
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13D Celsius
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Sample depth
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38.9m
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10m
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10m
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54m
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Surface
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0m
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P.H.
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7.3
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7.4
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7.4
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7.4
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7.5
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7.3
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Chloride
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200 ppm
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143 ppm
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300 ppm
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180 ppm
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200 ppm
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140 ppm
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Dissolved Oxygen
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30 ppm
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10.4 ppm
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6 ppm
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10.4 ppm
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10 ppm
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10 ppm
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Species
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1A
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2A
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3A
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1P
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2P
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3P
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1
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2
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2
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1
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1
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1
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6
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2
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2
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2
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1
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1
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1
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1
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3
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2
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1
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3
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1
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1
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7
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4
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3
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7
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1
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16
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2
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5
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5
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0
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2
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1
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2
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5
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1
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6
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0
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1
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1
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0
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2
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1
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7
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0
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0
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1
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0
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4
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0
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8
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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Results :
Diversity (Simpsons Diversity Index)
Discussion: 
This picture shows dissolved oxygen levels in different depths of Seneca Lake. Since all of our tests were taken at different depths and we got different readings in different depths, this could explain why. Oxygen is absolutely necessary to all life and if they get too low if can be stressful to the life down there. So that could affect the population
Evaluation: I think this was a somewhat solid experiment. But like in any experiment, there’s a certain amount of human error. I think to get a 100% accurate reading you would have to collect more Macroinvertebrate continuously all day. Just to be totally sure.
Conclusion: As you can see I found a very diverse
References – "Lake County Water Atlas." Seneca, Lake: Ecology. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
"Does Water Level Affect Benthic Macro-invertebrates of a Marginal Lake in a Tropical River-reservoir Transition Zone?" Does Water Level Affect Benthic Macro-invertebrates of a Marginal Lake in a Tropical River-reservoir Transition Zone? N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
"Seneca Lake." - A Guide to Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts in the Finger Lakes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
"Water Treatment Solutions." Why Is Important the Oxygen Dissolved in Water. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.*CLICK ON LINK FOR OTHER GRAPH*
