The Effect of Ammonia Sulfate on the Survival of Daphnia
Introduction
The purpose of this lab is to determine how much water toxicity in the daphnia’s environment it takes to kill the population. The daphnia is being used to see how aquatic toxicity can be of life or death significance to the health of ecosystems and human populations. Pollutants have increased since the human population has expanded. In the 1970’s the EPA was created by congress due to the increase in pollution and in 1977 the Clean Water Act was passed, which prohibits the release of pollutants at toxic levels into oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water. In the 2002 National Water Quality Inventory, the EPA reported 45% of streams and rivers and 47% of lakes, ponds and reservoirs surveyed it was “not clean enough to support their designated uses.” In this lab, Daphnia, a freshwater crustacean will be used to several different concentrations of ammonium sulfate, an inorganic compound with the molecular formula (NH4)2SO4 which is used as a fertilizer and an ingredient in many insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides.
The question the lab is trying to figure out is, at what levels will the concentration of ammonium sulfate affect the daphnia’s living conditions. If the daphnia is exposed to levels higher than 0.0 % of ammonium sulfate solution, then all of the daphnia will die.
The purpose of this lab is to determine how much water toxicity in the daphnia’s environment it takes to kill the population. The daphnia is being used to see how aquatic toxicity can be of life or death significance to the health of ecosystems and human populations. Pollutants have increased since the human population has expanded. In the 1970’s the EPA was created by congress due to the increase in pollution and in 1977 the Clean Water Act was passed, which prohibits the release of pollutants at toxic levels into oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water. In the 2002 National Water Quality Inventory, the EPA reported 45% of streams and rivers and 47% of lakes, ponds and reservoirs surveyed it was “not clean enough to support their designated uses.” In this lab, Daphnia, a freshwater crustacean will be used to several different concentrations of ammonium sulfate, an inorganic compound with the molecular formula (NH4)2SO4 which is used as a fertilizer and an ingredient in many insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides.
The question the lab is trying to figure out is, at what levels will the concentration of ammonium sulfate affect the daphnia’s living conditions. If the daphnia is exposed to levels higher than 0.0 % of ammonium sulfate solution, then all of the daphnia will die.
Steps
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Results
Conclusion
The data shows that almost all the daphnia’s died in concentrations over 0.0%. The morality rate of all groups besides the controlled group were 100%. The data shows that the toxicity level in the daphnia’s environment had an impact on them causing the whole population to die. The LC50 in this experiment is at 0.01% of ammonium sulfate concentration, because from 0.01% none died but at 0.02, all of the daphnia perished, making it logical that at 0.01% is where only half the population will die.
The data shows that almost all the daphnia’s died in concentrations over 0.0%. The morality rate of all groups besides the controlled group were 100%. The data shows that the toxicity level in the daphnia’s environment had an impact on them causing the whole population to die. The LC50 in this experiment is at 0.01% of ammonium sulfate concentration, because from 0.01% none died but at 0.02, all of the daphnia perished, making it logical that at 0.01% is where only half the population will die.