Purple loosestrife

Scientific Name: Lythrum salicaria
Common Name: Marsh Monster
Description: The purple loosestrife has attractive purple flowers that come off from a green stem. They can grow to be fairly tall as well as a bright purple.
Reproduction: The Purple Loosestrife can produce two to three million seeds while budding.
Problems Caused: Purple Loosestrife is an invasive plant in wetlands. It's had become an issue in all states but Florida. They can double in an areas almost over night so pulling by hand to get rid of Purple Loosestrife is not an option.
Prevention: More than a dozen biological controls have been studied and released onto these plants. It is imperative for researchers to find even more forms of pesticides to kill these invasive weeds.

Salvinia

Scientific Name: Salvinia molesta
Common Name: Giant Salvinia
Description: small free floating plants that grow in groups and form thick mats over the top of the water. They can also double in size in in four to ten days under good circumstances.
Reproduction: Giant Salvinia reproduce by fragments that fall off. As well as budding from the plant.
Problems Caused: Giant Salvinia reduces oxygen exchange and negatively effects water quality and ecosystem habitat.
Prevention: In order to prevent Salvinia from entering the ecosystem it is advised to never put aquarium plants into the lakes or wetlands.

Water Lettuce

Scientific Name: Pistia stratiotes
Common Name: Water Lettuce
Description: Water Lettuce looks exactly what it sounds like. A open head of lettuce found within the water. Although it's leaves are much wider and longer they are easy to spot. They are also free floating plants.
Reproduction: Water Lettuce reproduces through daughter plants.
Problems Caused: Water Lettuce form large mats on top of the surface preventing oxygen and sunlight to the rest of the body of water.
Prevention: In order to prevent Water Lettuce there are pesticides that can be harmful to the person spraying. In which case it is important for the person to remember to wear all appropriate safety gear when destroying water lettuce. Although it may not be as quick as some of the other weeds it is just as destructive to the environment.

Water Hyacinth

Scientific Name: Eichornia crassipes
Common Name: Water Hyacinth or "The World's Worst Weed"
Description: Beautiful purple flowers with green petals and shoot. This was originally brought from South America because of their delicate and pretty color.
Reproduction: The Water Hyacinth can produce two to three thousand seeds as well as reproduction through daughter plants. It is one of the fastest growing plants known.
Problems Caused: The Water Hyacinth takes up nutrients from the water and in turn produces H-ions that acidify it killing the life. The dense mats it forms on top of the water lowers the levels of oxygen as well as blocks navigation in the water.
Prevention: In order to prevent Water Hyacinth many scientists have discovered that you can spray pesticides that will kill the weed. However it is quick to grow causing the damage and the fixing of bodies of water to play a nonstop game of cat and mouse.

Eurasian WaterMilfoil

Scientific Name: Myriophyllum spicatum
Common Name: Eurasian Watermilfoil
Description: When the water milfoil is growing stems are red. However it is mostly found green and is a submergent plant.
Reproduction: The Watermilfoil is spread by seeds as well as fragments breaking off. It has also been spread by birds that have carried it across America.
Problems Caused: The Watermilfoil shades the needed sunlight from the water causing suffocation and death to the plants and animals. It also impedes navigation in the water.
Prevention: In order to prevent Watermilfoil from spreading there are fish that specifically eat plant life. Unfortunately this is risky and the only fish that can be introduced to the weeds must be sterol so that their population can not multiply and destroy the ecosystem.

Hydrilla

Scientific Name: Hydrilla verticuillata
Common Name: Hydrilla
Description: Grows from bottom of ocean to the top. Long green shoots that extend upward with petals around it.
Reproduction: Through Tubers, Turions, stolons and fragments. They do not have seeds. However they can grow more than an inch a day and because they are so fast growing it is extremely hard to control.
Problems Caused: Hydrilla also shades out desired sunlight and impedes navigation in the water for vegetation.
Prevention: In order to prevent the spread of Hydrilla boat owners must sufficiently clean off all parts of the boat before taking it anywhere else. For instance Hydrilla could get caught on a propeller, in which case it is imperative the owner hose off their boats then burn the Hydrilla or at least throw it into the garbage.

Alligator Weed

Scientific Name: Alternanthera philaxeroides
Common Name: Alligator Weed
Description: White flowers in center with green leaves stretching out of different sides that are pointed.
Reproduction: Alligator Weed can spread through seeds as well as plant fragments being dropped.
Problems Caused: The problems caused by Alligator Weed is extremely aggressive. They form mats along the surface of the water. They always get in the way of water navigation and can bring harm to the vegetation if not treated. By not allowing sun to enter the water Alligator Weed is causing plant death.
Prevention: The best way to prevent Alligator Weed is by spraying the area of the weed with herbicides or taking large machines and digging up the weed life trying to end it's spread.

Algae Lab

For this lab my partner and I took different samples of pond water and looked at them under a microscope to identify them. We found many different types of algae such as navicula which are often shaped like diatoms and are yellow brown. Also mixed diatoms, which are small different shaped cells. And oscillatoria which is the second most tolerant of organic pollution. These were all very interesting finds to my partner and I because we never knew how easy it was to obtain the algae we had learned about. This lesson really made me not want to ever get in a lake or pond again. However these algae may be small but they are fast to grow in large amounts and are often found grouped together.

Aquarium blog

I did not attend the aquarium field trip.

Algae

The Golden Algae!
The Golden Algae has been a very interesting algae for me to learn about. This algae is the size of a human blood cell, one drop of water can contain over 2,000 golden algae. The adaptations of the golden algae include two tails so that it can swim faster and move around better. They are a growing 'breed' of algae. As another adaptation Golden Algae release toxins into the water. These toxins negatively effect gill breathing aquatic life such as fish and clams. It has a very high resistance to the different ecosystems which makes it even faster growing. Whenever these toxins are released into the water and reach the fish they will begin to bleed internally. Eventually this leads to death. An interesting fact about the Golden Algae is that most often a bloom of Golden Algae is also considered a 'fish kill', because of all the fish death. Also they are most often found in fresh water environments and finally they were discovered in Texas in the year of 1985 since then 41 different 'fish kills' have been linked to the Golden Algae in Texas!

Free Day

Before taking this class I had absolutely no clue how to keep a fish alive. As a child my father always had a huge fish tank and would constantly be messing with it and doing all the ins and outs of being a good fish owner. He made it appear so simple and easy, however now having had my own it is definitely not that simple! I learned how important it is to constantly be checking your water. That was continually our biggest issue. If it wasn't nitrite it was the ammonia and vise versa. I also learned how important it is to dechlorinate your water or the nitrite levels rise A LOT..
Also not only the rocks but the left over food can cause issues with the water. We have scrubbed our rocks twice now and that definitely seems to help the water. I was surprised to learn that fish will constantly eat what they are given and can die from overeating. I am definitely a better fish owner now and if I ever do decide to buy any fish after this class I'll know exactly what to do. Thanks for the lessons! :)

Toads vs. Frogs

A. Frogs generally have the characteristics of bulging eyes, strong hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming. Smooth, slimy skin.  Whereas Toads have short stubby bodies with short hind feet as well for walking instead of hopping. Their skin is also dry and sometimes contains warts.
B. Amphibians are a good example of the health of an ecosystem because of how delicate they are. For instance before touching a frog you wet your hands with their water, or else you could harm and kill them. Their skin is absorbent of chemicals and other toxins that could be in the water. Because of this amphibian population can change with the ecosystem health.
There has in fact been a severe decrease in amphibian population over the last fifty years. The polluted waters have harshly effect their lively hood and caused them to die of toxins and diseases their immune system could not withstand. In order to prevent the populations to continue to dwindle it is important that we begin cleaning the water. For years factories have dumped their trash and toxins into the ocean and other lakes killing fish and amphibian life.

Assessing a pond

First the person assessing the pond should observe the area and water. A lot can be discovered by just looking at its surroundings and possible issues created or helpful plant and animal life. Next the observer should look for dead or decaying plants and animals and the possibilty of algae blooms within the pond. This could possibly appear alongside foam ontop of the water. This could be because of too much phosphorus in the pond. Although phosphorous is a natural resource in ponds if there becomes more than necessary it will begin an algae bloom. Next the observer should collect samples of the water as well as insects and algae. This would be important in order to know what kind of ecosystem this pond has. Because not every body of water is the same and some insects or algae may be more prevenlant which could be harmful to the water or helpful. Finally after you have collected the water samples you should do the pH, nitrite, ammonia, nitrate, and temperature test on them. However make sure they are all different samples of the same water so that it is controlled and not polluted with the different testing aids. Because ponds are natural body of water it is important to not try and control the ecosystem. Understanding the issues facing the pond as well as strengths is a useful tool in being able to know the aquatic ecosystem better.