Biology

The Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Algal Growth in Stream Water

By Jemeka Cotton

Biology 1116

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

March 20, 2014

Abstract

A local stream would like to add developments to its watershed, but the stream is likely to become eutrophic nutrient from human activity and run off. The objective is to keep the stream as a clean source of water for drinking water and recreational activities. In this experiment, a spectrophotometer was used to determine the absorbency of each solution. A spectrophotometer is used to determine the amount of light in a specified wavelength passes through a solution. On average, the amount of algae produced when phosphorus was added was 109,844.24 cells per milliliter per day. On average, the amount of algae produced when nitrogen was added was 103,141.6 cells per milliliter per day.

Introduction

A local stream would like to add developments to its watershed, but the stream is likely to become eutrophic nutrient from human activity and run off. The objective is to keep the stream as a clean source of water for drinking water and recreational activities. The best way to do this is to spend the minimum amount of money while doing the most good. If there is a higher concentration of phosphorus in the stream water, then the growth of the algae would be greater because it takes less phosphorus than nitrogen to produce algae.

According to the National Museum of Natural History, algae are photosynthetic organisms that occur in most habitats, which can be small, single-celled to complex multicellular forms (2013). Merriam-Webster defines Nitrogen is colorless, tasteless, and odorless element that constitutes 8 percent of the atmosphere, and is found in all living tissue and Phosphorus is multivalent element that occurs as inorganic phosphates in minerals, soils, bones, and teeth(2014). There are certain quantities of each nutrient needed for growth, but too much of...