FAMOSA CREW - FALL 2018

What is the distribution of

zooplankton at the Famosa
Slough
Kiki Mitchell
Alex Lopez
Matt Koch
Sisi Sibanda
Biology

Table of Contents

I) Introduction p.1
II) Methods p. 3
III) Results p. 4
IV) Discussion p. 5
V) Works Cited p.8
VI) Research Pictures p.9

I) Introduction

Zooplankton are a species that drift in water, feeding off of phytoplankton and are ubiquitous in
natural bodies of water. There are five categories of plankton that include crustaceans, transparent or
jelly like, worm like, animals with shells, and squids (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 2018).
Zooplankton are essential to the marine ecosystem because it is the necessity to the marine food web,
and pose at the foundation to it all. They are key to keeping the bacteria populations in the ocean under
control. Bacteria sticks onto the zooplankton, so natural nutrients are kept in flow (MarineBio
Conservation Society, 2018).
Zooplankton diversity is a major part of aquatic life. They are a big asset to the oceanic
community ,for example Zooplankton transfer phytoplanktonic energy to the animal life in the ocean,
which is necessary to organisms survival. Biodiversity is important because a wetland with ecological
diversity is more resilient to deal with the ever changing conditions. Bacteria that latch onto
zooplankton can be Daphnia Magna, Daphnia Hyalina, or both. They are important because they can
change the zooplankton and bacterias physiology and ecology (PNAS, 2010). The restoration of
wetlands causes wetland communities to be healthier and have more biodiversity within their animals.
This results in a larger access to zooplankton. ( MarineBio,2018).
The objective of this study the distribution of zooplankton and the diversity in the Famosa
Slough. The result will show how these species affect their habitat, what they eat, and what animals
they affect in the slough. They are a big part of the food chain and help lots of animals in the slough and
elsewhere. For example the animals feed on them and get the nutrients they need. The prediction
made, is that researchers will find more plankton in a high salinity area of the slough.

II) Methodology

Independent Variable
The independent variable is the two sites water will be taken from. Site one is the inflow of water and
Site two is the outflow of water at the slough (either sides of the bridge). ​Reference a map at figure
one.
​Dependent Variable
The measurable data is the 20 data points made up of five points from each sample, found from two
sites. There are 131 different plankton species that could be identified. These are measurable because
researchers will be selecting which plankton to research.

Control Variable
To control the variables, four samples will be taken on the same day, due to the fact that the slough
changes everyday. These samples will each be 45 ml of slough water, and will be taken within the same
hour of day. This will make sure that the data is as even as possible.

Confounding Variable
Confounding variables that could impact research are storms and irregular tidal levels, which cause
runoff. Runoff can affect the data because it affects living organisms in the water. Another factor is that
Scheduling restrictions are out of researchers control.

Sample Size
The sample size will be four water samples from two sites at the Slough. Once finished, in the lab
researchers will identify 5 plankton from each sampling, left with a total of 20 identified.

Materials
❏ Sample Collection Tube (45 ml)
❏ Microscope
❏ Microscope trays
❏ Camera - zoom lens, lower ISO, low exposure
❏ Data sheet
❏ Map of the Famosa Slough: Reference at Figure one
❏ Field apparel- boots etc
❏ Plankton Tow
❏ Rinse Bottle-Spring water
❏ Tape and Sharpie to label samples
Figure One:Inflow and Outflow locations on Map of Famosa Slough

Primary Research Method

On Field Site
1) Collect four water samples from inflow and outflow sites (two sites). (On either side of bridge at
Famosa Slough) Using Plankton Tow, skim top of water for one minute. Throw plankton tow out
as far as possible and begin dragging in for one minute.
2) Once done, wash net with rinse bottle (this is so plankton fall into bottom bottle)
3) Pour new sample into sample bottle

At Lab
4) Add water onto microscope slides - using a pipet, drop around two water drops onto slide
5) Look under microscope at four samples
6) Identify five zooplankton - ​Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Plankton site)
7) Take pictures of plankton - Using microscope
8) Research about individual plankton- Research the same things for each. What eats them, what
they eat, native or non-native?
9) Compare plankton from each site
10) Once completed, discard slough water into sink drain

Data Sheets

Name/Site - Salt What they Eat What Eats them Impact

Marsh
#1 - Sample 1 (site 1- Salt Marsh)

Name/Site - Salt What they Eat What Eats them Impact

Marsh

#1 - Crustacean

#2 - Crustacean

#3 - Water Boatman -found in almost

every place; most
common

#4 - Crustacean

#5 - Crustacean

#2 Sample 2 (site 1 - Salt Marsh)

Name What they Eat What Eats them Impact

#1 - Crustacean

#2 - Crustacean

#3 - Crustacean

#4 - Crustacean

#5 - Larva

#3 Sample 1 (site 2 - Inflow)

Name What they Eat What Eats them Impact

#1 - Crustacean

#2 - Other (Larva)

#3 - n/a

#4 - n/a
 #5 - n/a

#4 Sample 2 (site 2 - Inflow)

Name What they Eat What Eats them Impact

#1 - n/a

#2 - n/a

#3 - n/a

#4 - n/a

#5 - n/a
III) Results

Figure 1: Site One, Sample One, taken from Salt Marsh

Figure 2: Site One, Sample Two, taken from Salt Marsh

This study references data collected within the same hour at two different sites close in
area on October 5, 2018. The data collected from the Famosa Slough were water samples
containing zooplankton and water animals.
Numbers represented in this graph were rounded up from the actual numbers collected
to avoid decimal points. Data is represented in percentages to indicate averages.​ ​Extreme
outliers were not found in this data set.
Round one of sampling was collected on September 28, 2018 on the trip to the Famosa
Slough at approximately 2:00 pm in the afternoon. There were 2 samples taken this day.These
samples were never recorded or measured.
Round two of sampling was collected on October 5th, 2018 on the second trip to the
slough.Sample one and two both had 4 crustaceans observed. For sample one, there was one
water boatman while the second sample had 0. Sample two however had one larva.
IV) Discussion

The purpose of this experiment was to identify the different types of zooplankton
located at the Famosa Slough. Samples were taken from two parts of the slough to compare
variation in areas sampled to see if they would have more or less zooplankton. I predict that
collecting these samples will give us an array of zooplankton from two locations at the slough. I
found that tidal change however drastically changed the variation of our data. This was due to
the time of day samples were collected.
Low tides are not ideal for zooplankton collection. This is because low tide makes it hard
to get an abundant sample of plankton. Evidence to this is data collected on X day that resulted
in no zooplankton collected. Low tide usually occurs after 1 p.m. and high tide often times in
the morning (Wave Cast, 2018). Site one sample one, the salt marsh, had 80% of crustacean
zooplankton, the other 20% was water boatman, ​Corixidae​. Looking at our findings, 80% at site
one sample 2, were also crustacean zooplankton, while the other 20% was a zooplankton larva.
This is because it rained the night before the data collection, so the runoff water from the
street went into the slough, providing breeding grounds for the already existing crustaceans.
In conclusion, the prediction, that data would have a wide abundance of animals, was
not supported. For future reference, researchers would be more mindful of timezones when
collecting samples. ​I also believe in this experiment, we could have went more into depth on
the water quality like salinity and ph so we could back up our claim with even more evidence.
These findings however are significant because zooplankton are a crucial part of the ecosystem.
Without them, the food chain would collapse creating an imbalance in water ecosystems, and
at the Famosa Slough.

Zooplankton ​ ​ Water Boatman​ ​ Site One-Salt Marsh ​ S​ ite Two-Outflow

V) Works Cited

“Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego |.” ​Scripps Institution of Oceanography​, 1

Jan. 2018, scripps.ucsd.edu/.

“Zooplankton.” MarineBio.org, 9 Oct. 2018,

www.marinebio.org/oceans/zooplankton/index.aspx.

Grossart, Hans-Peter, et al. “Bacterial Dispersal by Hitchhiking on Zooplankton.” ​Current

Neurology and Neuroscience Reports.​, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 29 June 2010