Project:

The Effect of Heavy Metal Contamination on Aquatic Invertebrate Biodiversity

Students:

Mgbodichinma Agwu, Dillon Scala, Julie Buchala

School:

Lynbrook Senior High School, Nassau

Mentors:

Kathleen McAuley

Abstract:

Massapequa Creek was contaminated with heavy waste, specifically cadmium and chromium, by an aerospace manufacturing company. Belmont State Lake is a freshwater lake that is generally considered a clean lake. Aquatic invertebrates are animals without a backbone that live in aquatic environments. Heavy metal can affect biodiversity of aquatic invertebrates, which can have immense impacts on an ecosystem. We hypothesize that there will be less aquatic invertebrate biodiversity in Massapequa Creek than in Belmont State Lake because of the presence of heavy metals in Massapequa Creek. Aquatic invertebrates will be collected from Massapequa Creek and Belmont State Lake using a mesh net. After collection, DNA will be sampled from the organism to identify the amount of biodiversity of species in both locations.

Team samples:

See all samples for project