APLab#12:DissolvedOxygenandPrimaryProductivity

PaulaZdanowski,IvyZhou,KylieOHara,SaraKuramitsu
April13,2015
Gold1
Mr.Hilvert

Abstract
Theobjectiveofthislabwastocalculatedissolvedoxygenconcentrationanddetermine
theprimaryproductivityofanaquaticecosystem.Toaccomplishthis,thedissolvedoxygenin
wateratdifferenttemperaturesfirstwasdeterminedthroughtitration.Then,tomeasurethe
productivityofanaquaticenvironment,differentbottleswithvaryingdegreesoflightwereleft
underalightfor24hours,andtitratedagaintodeterminethedissolvedoxygenconcentration.
Theresultsofthislabdemonstratednostrongcorrelationbetweentheintensityofthelightand
thenetproductivity,sosomethingotherthanlightmusthavebeeninfluencingtheproductivityin
theaquaticenvironment.

Introduction
Oxygenisanecessarypartinaquaticaswellasterrestrialenvironments.Becauseitis
neededinvirtuallyallmetabolicprocesses,dissolvedoxygenisagreatindicatorofwaterquality
(Robson).Becausewaterisnotasefficientatholdingoxygenasairis,itisimperativethat
oxygenisconstantlyreplenishedfromtheatmosphereandsurroundingbiologicalactivity.This
dissolvedoxygenisabyproductofphotosynthesis.Therearevariousfactorsthatimpactthe
dissolvedoxygencontentofabodyofwater,includingtemperature,wind,turbulence,andthe
trophicstate(HargreavesandTucker).Ameasureoftheproductionofoxygenoveraperiodof
timeisfoundbycalculatingtheamountofcarbonthathasbeenfoundonorganiccompounds
overtime(Sanchez).Theobjectivesofthisexperimentweretodemonstrateimportanceof
carbonandoxygencyclesinanecosystem,theeffectoflightandnutrientsonphotosynthesis,
andtoidentifythefactorsthataffectthesolubilityofdissolvedgassesinaquaticenvironments..
Wehypothesizedthatthetemperatureofthewaterwouldimpacttheamountofdissolved
oxygen,andthatthebottleswithlowerlightwouldbelessproductive.

Procedure/Materials/Methods
Theobjectiveofthislabistomeasurethedissolvedoxygenconcentration,calculate
productivityandrespirationrate,anddemonstratethisknowledgeincorrespondencewiththe
ecosystem.Inthisfirstpartofthislab,wemeasuredtheamountofdissolvedoxygen.Todoso,
wefirstpreparedasamplingwaterbottle.Wefilledabottlewith20Cwatertothetop.Wedid
notallowanyairbubblestobetrappedinsideandthencappeditbottle.Thenweplacedthe
bottleinawhiteshallowpanandaddedeightdropsofmanganoussulfateandeightdropsof
alkalineiodide.Thesolutionwasanorangecolor.Whenwedidthis,aprecipitateformed

immediately.Nextwemixedtheingredientsbyinvertingitseveraltimes.Welettheprecipitate
settleandthenaddedonescoopofacidintothebottleandalsomixeditbyinvertingthebottle.
Whenweaddedtheacid,theprecipitatedissolvedandthesolutionturnadarkyellow.
Wethenmeasured20mLofthesampleandplaceditintoatitrationvial.Apieceofwhitepaper
wasplacedunderthevialtoseethecolorbetter.Next,weaddedeightdropsofstarchindicator
tothesamplewhichcausedthecolortochangetoapurple.Atitrationsyringewasfilledwith
sodiumthiosulfateandwasusedtotitratethesampleuntilthecolorchangedfrompurpletopale
yellow/clear.Wethenmeasuredtheamountofdissolvedoxygenbymeasuringtheamountof
titrantused.Wealsogatheredclassdata.
Inthesecondpartofthelabwemeasuredproductivity.Firstwefilledsevensampling
bottlesbysubmergingtheminthedirtygreenfishtankonthesideoftheroom.Weplacedeach
bottleinsideuntilalltheairbubblescameoutandthenwecappedthebottleunderwater.Then
welabeledeachbottlewith17.Afterwards,wewrappedthebottleswiththeappropriateamount
ofscreenforthelightintensities.Thiscanbeseeninthetableonpage11.(Bottle2hadfoil
aroundit,bottle3had1screen,etc...)Weliedbottles27downontheirsidesunderalight
overnight.Next,wepreparedawetmountofthewatersampleinbottle1andobserveditundera
microscope.Weidentifiedtheorganismswefoundanddrewthem.Wealsopreparedbottle1the
sameasthesamplebottleinthepreviousexperimentandtitratedthesolution.Onthenextday
wepreparedtheotherbottlesaccordingtothesamestepsasbeforeinthepreviouslabandbottle
#1.Afterwards,wemeasureddissolvedoxygenineachbottleandtitratedeachsample.Using
specificformulaswecalculatedtheproductivityandrespirationratesofthesamples.Classdata
wasalsoobtained.Inthelastpartofthelab,wegraphedthedatagiventomeasurethe
productivityofabodyofwater.

Data
Table1:DissolvedOxygenConcentration,LabGroupSample

Temperature

DissolvedOxygen(mg/L)

%Saturation

20C

1mg/L

10%

Table2:DissolvedOxygenConcentration,ClassSample

Temperature(Celsius)

DissolvedOxygen(mg/L)

%Saturation

0(Group1)

0.7

5%

0(Group6)

0.9

8%

20(Group2)

0.97

10%

20(Group5)

0.88

10%

30(Group3)

0.96

12%

30(Group4)

0.75

11%

Astemperatureincreases,thedissolvedoxygenandthe%saturationalsogenerallyincreases.

Table3:GrossandNetProductivity/RespirationRate,ClassSample

PercentLight

Dissolved
Oxygen(mg/L)

NetProductivity Gross
Productivity
(mlO2/L)

Gross
Productivity
(mgC/m^3)

Initial

0.83

Dark

0.80

100%

0.79

0.04

0.01

5.36

65%

0.83

0.03

16.08

25%

0.78

0.05

0.02

10.72

10%

0.91

0.08

0.11

58.96

2%

0.69

0.14

0.11

58.96

Respiration=InitialBottleDarkBottle
NetPrimaryProduction=LightBottleInitialBottle
GrossProduction=LightBottleDarkBottle

Thereisnotastrongcorrelationbetweenthepercentlightexposedandthedissolvedoxygen.
Thecurveincreasesanddecreasesoftensothatapatternisdifficulttoidentify.Thereisalsono
specificcorrelationbetweenlightpercentageandnetproductivityaswellaslightpercentageand
grossproductivity.

Discussion/Conclusion
ForPartA,ourfindingsshowthatthetemperatureofthewaterdidimpactthedissolved
oxygencontent.Theoveralltrendshowsthatthelowerthetemperature,thehigherthedissolved
oxygencontentinthewater.Thisishoworganismsinaquaticenvironmentssurviveincold
weatherwhenthewaterfreezes.Becauseofthehighoxygencontentinthewater,theyareable
toslowdowntheirmetabolisms,whilestillmaintainingahighenoughoxygenintaketosurvive.
ForpartB,ourfindingsshowthatlighthaslittleeffectontheproductivityofaquatic
environments,whichdisprovesourhypothesis.Thereasonforthisisbecauselightcannot
penetratewaterverywell,whichmeansthatorganismslivingdeepinwaterarelimitednotby
light,butbynutrients.Thevaryingdissolvedoxygencontentsforeachbottledemonstratesthat
theamountoflightdidnotreallylimittheproductivity.

WorksCited

Hargreaves,JohnA.,andCraigS.Tucker."MeasuringDissolvedOxygenConcentrationin
Aquaculture."
TheFishSite
.5mPublishing,09Jan.2006.Web.20Apr.2015.

Robson,MarkG."DissolvedOxygen."
Encyclopedia.com
.HighBeamResearch,01Jan.2003.Web.20
Apr.2015.

Sanchez,Enrique."UseoftheWaterQualityIndexandDissolvedOxygenDeficitasSimpleIndicators
ofWatershedsPollution."
UseoftheWaterQualityIndexandDissolvedOxygenDeficitas
SimpleIndicatorsofWatershedsPollution
.ElsevierLtd.,21Nov.2005.Web.20Apr.2015.

Questions
1) Howdoestemperatureaffectthesolubilityofoxygeninwater?
Thelowerthetemperature,themoresolubleoxygenisinwater.
2)Howdoessalinityaffectthesolubilityofoxygeninwater?
Thehigherthesalinity,thelowerdissolvedoxygenthereisinwater.
3)Wouldyouexpecttofindhigherdissolvedoxygencontentinabodyofwaterinwinteror
summer?
Iwouldexpecttheretobeahigherdissolvedoxygencontentinabodyofwaterinthe
winterbecausethewateriscolder.
4)Discusshoweachofthefollowingfactorscouldinfluencethedissolvedoxygen
concentrationinabodyofwater:
Wind:Windwouldincreasethedissolvedoxygenconcentrationbecauseitmovesair
acrossthesurfaceofthewaterallowingmoreoxygentobeintroduced.
Temperature:Thehigherthetemperature,thelowertheamountofdissolvedoxygenin

water.
Altitude:Asaltitudeincreases,thedissolvedoxygencontentwoulddecreasebecauseof
thedropinpressure.
5)Doyouthinkitwouldbewisetostockapondwithgamefishifithadadissolvedoxygen
contentof3ppm?Whyorwhynot?
Itwouldnotbewisebecausemostfishneedadissolvedoxygencontentofatleast5or6
ppm.
6)Ichosetolabelthelowdissolvedoxygencontentassummer,andthehighdissolved
oxygencontentaswinterbecausetemperatureisindirectlyrelatedtothelevelof
dissolvedoxygeninwater.

7)InpartB,wereanyofthesampleslightlimited?Why?
Itdoesntappearthatanyofthesampleswerelightlimited,becausetherewasnotrendin
dissolvedoxygencontentforvaryingdegreesoflight.Thisisbecausemostaquatic
environmentsaremorelimitedbytheirnutrientssincelightcannotpenetratedeeplyinto
water.
8)BasedonyouranalysisofthelakespresentedinpartCofthelab,whichlakeismore
productive?
Lake2appearstobemoreproductivebecauselightcanpenetratedeeperintothewater
thaninlake1.
9)Whatisusedasthebasisformeasuringprimaryproductivity?
Dissolvedoxygencontentisusedasthebasisformeasuringprimaryproductivitybecause
itcandemonstratetheamountofO2usedinrespiration.

10)

11)a.additionofmanganoussulfate:producesmanganoushydroxidewhenaddedwithwater
b.additionofalkalineiodide:oxidizesmanganoushydroxidetomanganichydroxide
c.additionofsulfamicacid:convertsmanganichydroxidetomanganicsulfate
d.additionofstarchindicator:makestitrationendpointmorevisible
e.titrationwithsodiumthiosulfate:freeiodinecombinesintosodiumiodide