Dissolved Oxygen with varying Depth, Temperature, and Salinity

Lab Partners: Jarod Denmark, Dominique Taylor,Brianna Prashad

Introduction:
Primary productivity is the root in which all organisms in the ecosystem receive their
energy. The energy from the producers are passed along through different trophic levels
from 5-20%. Primary productivity is the amount of light energy converted to chemical
energy by the autotrophs. The total amount of chemical energy that is produced is
called the gross primary productivity and the net primary productivity is the amount that
is left over to the consumers once it has gone through respiration. The net productivity
is represented by the equation NPP=GPP-Respiration. Through primary productivity
oxygen is also produced and is dissolved into the water. Some things that can impact
photosynthesis and the amount of dissolved oxygen are the amount of light,
temperature, amount of water and carbon dioxide and the amount of space for the plant
to grow.
The purpose of the lab is to test the concentration of oxygen in various samples of
water to determine what conditions are optimal for the absorption of oxygen and also to
determine the changes in the concentration of dissolved oxygen with varying depth,
temperature and salinity.
Experimental Design:
Question:How do different abiotic factors impact dissolved oxygen levels in various
water samples?
Hypothesis: As the temperature decreases the DO levels in the water will increase.As
the salinity increases in the water the DO levels will decrease.
As there is a less amount of light the DO levels will decrease but respiration will
continue.
Variables: Temperature: The independent variable would be the different temperatures
the dependent variable would be the amount of dissolved oxygen or percent saturation
of oxygen. The control of the experiment would be the sample with the room

temperature water and the two constants would be the volume of water and the testing
kits used.
Salinity: The independent variable would be the salinity levels in the water and the
dependent variable would be the dissolved oxygen levels. The control of the experiment
would be the freshwater sample since it does not have a salt concentration and a
constant would be temperature.
Respiration: the independent variable would be the light intensity and the dependent
variable would be the primary productivity. The control of the samples would be the dark
sample bottles since it was not expected to have a high primary productivity rate and a
constant would be the volume of water.
Safety: Wear lab goggles at all times and handle all chemicals and glassware according
to the instructor's directions.
Materials/ Procedure: See lab handout

Results:
Table 1: Temperature
Temperature

Lab Group DO

Class Mean
DO

Lab Group %
DO Saturation

Class Mean %
DO Saturation

20

----

6.4

----

65.5

14

----

6.1

----

69

Salinity

Lab Group DO

Class Mean
DO

Lab Group %
DO Saturation

Class Mean %
DO Saturation

Fresh (0ppt)

6.6 ppm

7.2

72%

70

Salt (32ppt)

4 ppm

6.5

53%

61

Table 2: Salinity

Table 3: Respiration
Lab Group Data

Class Mean Data

Initial DO

6.8

6.1

Dark Bottle DO

3.8

Respiration Rate (InitialDark)

2.8

2.3

Table 4:Lab Group Data- Productivity of Screen-Wrapped Samples

Light

DO (ppm)

Gross Productivity
(Light Bottle-Dark
Bottle)

Net Productivity
(Light Bottle-Initial
Bottle)

100%

6.7 ppm

2.7

-0.1

65%

5.4 ppm

1.4

-1.4

25%

5.2 ppm

1.2

-1.6

10%

6 ppm

-.8

2%

6.6 ppm

2.6

-.2

0%

4 ppm

Table 5: Class Mean Data- Productivity of Screen-Wrapped Samples

Light

Gross Productivity-- DO
ppm

Net Productivity-- DO ppm

100%

2.7

-0.1

65%

1.4

-1.4

25%

1.2

-1.6

10%

-0.8

2%

2.6

-0.2

Conclusion:
1. temperature, depth, and salinity.
2. Dissolved oxygen is used to measure how much carbon is assimilated.
3. In the case of temperature DO levels will decrease as the temperature in a body of
water increases.This can explain why colder bodies of water such as lakes and streams
can hold a higher dissolved oxygen level than warmer shallower waters.
4. Salinity is how much salt can be found in a body of water, saltwater has a high salt
concentration which holds less DO levels opposed to freshwater which holds a higher
DO level.
5. There would be no gross productivity at 0% light and no net productivity at all,
according to our table.
6. Since air is a different form of matter that water it is easier to take in, for mammals,
than for fish. And since fish take in oxygen that is dissolved into water, their bodies have
to work harder to separate the oxygen.
7. The DO level taken from a stream would be higher than that taken from the lake
because it has more movement and can aerate better. Light can also get sunlight better
than than I lake that is deeper.

8. I would expect the DO concentration to be higher at 5:00pm because the sunlight

would have had more time to stimulate photosynthesis in the organisms in the water to
make more oxygen.
9.Eutrophication occurs in lakes, rivers, ponds and coastal areas. It is caused when
high levels of organic matter, nitrogen (water soluble) and phosphorus (not water
soluble) are present in the water and results in algal blooms. Algal bloom is a rapid
increase in the population of cyanobacteria and algae, also that it in some cases
produces toxins and makes it harder for light to enter a body of water. It ultimately
results in the depletion of DO levels resulting in the death of numerous aquatic life. With
the use of N and P fertilizers it is usually traced back to run off from a non point source
such as from various agricultural fields or even roads near them which only further aids
to the process of eutrophication by polluting the water.
10. Initially, drawing A would have more oxygen available because of its volume, but
over time drawing B would have more oxygen available because of the amount of
surface area it has and the air surrounding will eventually diffuse into the water.
Paragraph:
As the temperature decreased, the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels increased which
confirms the initial hypothesis. As the salinity levels increased, the amount of DO
decreased, which also confirms the initial hypothesis. When there is a less light
intensity, the DO levels will decrease. However, respiration will continue; therefore, this
accepts the initial hypothesis. The reason why the DO levels changed as the depth of
the simulated lake increased would be because of the abiotic factors impacting the
water samples. With temperature, we were able to see with the warmer water than it
held less dissolved oxygen than the cold water. The reason behind this would be is that
the water temperature increased the molecular vibrations, which in turn reduced the
space available for remaining molecules. Ultimately, this led to the decline of the
dissolved oxygen levels. With salinity, as the salt concentration increased, it made it
harder for the water to hold a large capacity of DO. This is due to the competing ionic
charges from salt allowing it to fill most of the molecular spaces that would have
otherwise contained dissolved oxygen. With respiration, there was not any light
present in the dark bottle, although respiration continued photosynthesis did not
because there was no light present.
Two possible errors would be the following: the execution of the titration tests for table
four and not properly dissolving the sulfuric acid in the temperature test. With the
titrations at one point we added in too much thiosulfate so it could have messed up the
average of the dissolved oxygen levels. With the sulfuric acid not properly dissolving
could decrease the dissolved oxygen amount. An additional question that could go with
this lab could be would there be a significant difference of DO levels if the water was
taken from two different sources such as from fast moving stream and a still pond or

lake. Also would the water's rapid movement from the stream have any significant
impact on DO levels.
References:
Reece, Jane B. Campbell Biology, AP Edition. Boston.MA: Pearson Education/
Benjamin Cummings.2007.Print