Project:

Biodiversity of Diatoms in synthetic and natural conditions

Students:

Seoyoung Shin, Isabel Guo Isabel Guo, Yeonbin.(Ivy) Sung

School:

The Stony Brook School, Suffolk

Mentors:

Erol Altug

Abstract:

Introduction: Diatoms, photosynthetic algae, are responsible for a major portion of photosynthesis in aquatic environments and around 20% of carbon fixation. They are able to thrive in a variety of environments including polar oceans and the sediment of coastal lakes (practically any aquatic environment). Diatoms are good climate change indicators as their microfossil deposits could be observed to postulate environmental changes. Goal: Our goal is to compare diatom biodiversity in synthetic pools to natural ponds. Under artificial conditions, backyard pools are rich in nitrate and phosphate due to the body of water’s intake of surrounding fertilizer, cleaning products, and use of phosphate for the reduction of metals. High nitrate and phosphate levels may result in rapid eutrophication, increasing algae growth and producing harmful algae blooms. A synthetic pool is less likely to accumulate silica rich materials due to its lack of water circulation and therefore, less mineral deposit

Poster:

Team samples: