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Testing Water Quality Using Abiotic Factors
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Definitions
• Abiotic – natural, never living objects– Example: rocks, rain, oxygen
• ppm- Parts Per Million. – The oxygen content is 6 ppm
• 6 parts of the million parts tested are oxygen
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Oxygen
• Importance to Watershed:– Plants release and animals take in to survive
• Healthy average: 9-10 ppm• Under 3 ppm will not support fish
• Oxygen gets into water by…– Diffusion from surrounding air– Aeration of water over rocks and waterfalls– Waste product of photosynthesis
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Carbon Dioxide
• Importance to Watershed:– Animals release and plants take in to survive
• Healthy average: 6-12 ppm• Under 6 ppm or over 20 ppm will not support fish
• Days of heavy cloud cover = more CO2. (No photosynthesis)
• This is good if alkalinity is high and bad if pond is acidic.
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Alkalinity
• Importance to watershed: protects against pH change
• Healthy average: Above 20 ppm
• Sources: – Soil, limestone
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pH
• Definition: measure of acidity in water
• Healthy average: 6-9
• New ponds are alkaline– Debris causes acids to build up
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Nitrates
• Definition: Combination of nitrogen and oxygen compounds
• Source: fertilizers, scat, urine
• Too many nitrates can cause algae to grow.– These organisms can cloud the water and take
oxygen from fish and other species.
• Healthy average: under 4.4 ppm
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Temperature
• Pond habitat: warmer temperatures
• Stream habitat: cooler temperatures
• Temperature range for fish: 32 – 97 degrees F
• Fish migrate, feed and reproduce based on temperatures
• Different fish live in different temperature ranges
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Turbidity• Definition: dirt or sediment in the water
• Secchi disk is used to measure light penetration
• Clear Water: 24 or more inches of light penetration• Turbid Water: 23 or less inches of light penetration
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Water ColorColor Cause Fish Food
Productivity
Clear Absence of plankton
Low
Green Algae Moderate
Brown Diatoms (microscopic life)
High
Dark Brown Peat, humus Low