Introduction to Plankton

Introduction: Plankton, from the Greek planktos, means "wanderer," or "drifter," is any organism which cannot fight the current. Plankton is classified in various different ways, such as energy source, color, lifestyle, and size. Some plankton photosynthesizes, while other types are heterotrophic. Plankton can be green, blue-green, brown, or gold. Plankton may remain plankton its entire life, or it may be plankton only for one stage in its life. Finally, plankton can be small (on the order of .005 mm), like algae, or large like jellyfish. Plankton produces 90% of all the breathable air on Earth.

Question: How diverse is the plankton population in South Maui?

Hypothesis: I think that there will be over 100 species of plankton in the water around South Maui.

Materials:

• collection net
• vial
• microscope
• slide
• coverslip
• paper
• pencil

Procedure:

Salinity Test:

1. Set water tester to measure salinity
2. Dip in sample water
3. Record results

Temperature Test:

1. Dip thermometer into water
2. Wait until the red marker stops moving
3. Record results

Disolved Oxygen Test:

1. Take sample of water
2. Drop in Oxygen Test Tablet and shake until disolved
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. Compare color and record results

Phosphates Test:

1. Take water sample
2. Drop in Phosphate Test Tablet and shake until disolved
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. Compare color and record results

Nitrates Test:

1. Take water sample
2. Drop in Nitrate Test Tablet and shake until disolved
3. Wait 5 minutes
4. Compare color and record results

pH Test:

1. Set water tester to measure pH
2. Dip into water
3. Wait until results appear on screen
4. Record results

Turbidity Test:

1. Pour water into graduated cylinder to the correct height
2. Place over symbol and compare visual results to chart
3. Record results

Data:

• Sailinity: 26 ppt
• Temperature: 20.46
• Disolved Oxygen: 0
• Phosphates: 4
• Nitrates: 2
• Current: Motionless
• pH: 8.09
• Turbidity: 0
• Plankton species identified: approx. 5, many more still in sample though

Conclusion: We began this experiment wondering how many species of plankton there were in Maui waters. I suspected they would be numerous, over 100. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm or deny that number today because we only had the time and resources to ID 5 species. There were still many more in the sample. This was our main source of error, but others may include improper tool use, incorrect identification, incorrect use of Detain, and improper imaging methods.