Major
Environmental Science
Anticipated Graduation Year
2022
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
My project was focused on comparing the field work and research that I completed with Natalia Szklaruk in fall 2021 to the research done by Midwest Biodiversity Institute. The goal was to see if there is a correlation between the health of a waterway, specifically conductivity levels, and the amount of species and taxa present in that area. The process consisted of sampling various waterways in the Chicagoland area, sorting and identifying the species collected, and then researching how our results compared to others and what the implications of this research may be. The results indicated that there is no clear correlation between conductivity levels and the amount of species present in a waterway. Further research could be done to see if other water quality factors are having an effect on native and non-native species health.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Reuben Keller; Natalia Szklaruk
Supported By
Lee Botts Memorial Scholarship for Great Lakes Studies and Stewardship
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Comparing Aquatic Invertebrate Samples Collected from Chicagoland Waterways to Midwest Biodiversity Institute Waterbody Quality Reports.
My project was focused on comparing the field work and research that I completed with Natalia Szklaruk in fall 2021 to the research done by Midwest Biodiversity Institute. The goal was to see if there is a correlation between the health of a waterway, specifically conductivity levels, and the amount of species and taxa present in that area. The process consisted of sampling various waterways in the Chicagoland area, sorting and identifying the species collected, and then researching how our results compared to others and what the implications of this research may be. The results indicated that there is no clear correlation between conductivity levels and the amount of species present in a waterway. Further research could be done to see if other water quality factors are having an effect on native and non-native species health.