Science on Seneca.

Research Question: How does temperature in certain areas affect the population of organisms living in that area?


Controlled Variable: Temperature.
IV: A few different locations on the lake.
RV: Carbon dioxide, Ph levels, and dissolved oxygen.
Hypothesis: I believe that the population of sea animals will gravitate more towards the warmer climates than the cooler ones.
Method: Find the area of water with the highest temperature to see if that area holds the most levels of Ph. Then count the population in that area. Move towards the cooler areas, take the Ph levels there and count the amount of animals in that area as well.
Procedure:
1. Find at least three different locations in the lake with different temperatures.
2. Find the temperatures and record them.
3. Record the levels of Ph after finding the temperature.
4. Count the amount of organisms living in that certain area and record them.
5. Tally up each of the amount of organisms for each area and see who has the most in the end.


"Changes in temperature affect aquatic life. Temperature determines which organisms will thrive and which will diminish in numbers and size. For each organism there is a thermal death point. Also there is a range of temperature of that produces optimal abundance. The effects of temperature upon life of a cold blooded or poikilotherm are profound. Poikilothermic animals, such as fish, are those whose body temperatures follow closely the temperature of their medium.
These animals have coped with temperature problems in different ways. Not only the organism survival, but growth and reproduction of each organism have critical temperature ranges. Each organism must be favored by the proper temperature if the individual or its population are going to survive. For instance, temperature influences enzymatic reactions through hormonal and nervous control to digestion, from respiration and osmoregulation to all aspects of an organism’s performance and behavior.
High and low temperatures that are lethal to individual organism of a species determines the distribution and abundance it’s populations. However, more often the distribution and abundance of populations is determined by less than lethal temperatures interacting with other environmental factors that either tend to favor or not to favor reproduction and growth.
Increased water temperature is an important consideration when toxic substances are present in water. Many substances (i.e. cyanides, phenol, xylene, zinc) exhibit increased toxicity at elevated temperatures. These toxicities and other physiological interactions are also influenced by temperature acclimation or history of the species."


Question: Does temperature really affect aquatic life?