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DNS Paper
Harrison Quick
Amphibian population estimates and ecosystem assessment on the Durango nature Studies property
Introduction
Durango Nature Studies is an area located on County Road 310/318 in Durango, Colorado solely dedicated to the main purpose of the building of a respectful, happy, and understanding relationship between people (especially students) and nature. It is a non-profit organization that does well in providing environmental information to students in the 4-Corners area. The property itself is fairly large, and contains several kinds of habitats, as listed: riparian, meadows, oak woodlands, piñon-juniper forests, and desert arroyos.
Natural History
Bullfrogs (Rana Catesbeiana) were introduced, accidentally, to Colorado quite a while ago, and have since been considered an invasive species, given the fact that they compete for prey and resources. Invasive species are seen as a concern due to the fact that invasive species can throw other species to the verge of extinction within that area. For example, bullfrogs, as seen in the Durango Nature Studies property, actually attempt to surround the leopard frog population of a small pond. There, they scare and force the leopard frogs into the center of the pond, where the bluegill fish live. There, the bluegill feast on the leopard frogs, therefore diminishing the population of the leopard frogs. Leopard frogs are no longer as strong a population as they once were in Colorado, having been invaded by bullfrogs and other species in ponds, etc. spread throughout the state.
Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) have adapted to cooler climates, being found at above 3,000 meters. Although raccoons prey upon them, as well as other frogs and even humans, leopard frogs themselves prey on smaller frogs, crickets and worms. Their mouths have even been found to accommodate the size of birds, and even garter snakes. Leopard frogs typically live near ponds, swamps and marshes, but have also been found to live in slow-moving streams that extend through a variety of habitats, including forested and open areas. Leopard frogs, like any frog, remain tadpoles until adulthood, when they become actual frogs.
Bullfrogs can be found along the edges of the water contained within ponds, lakes, swamps and other bodies of water. Typical life span is 8 to 10 years. Bullfrogs have actually, and hilariously, been found to feed on any living animal it can possibly overpower, including small turtles, rodents, snakes, birds, bats, and even other bullfrogs. Bullfrogs use their repetitive biting manor as well as several tongue lashes to conquer any large, powerful prey. To capture any prey, bullfrogs go through the motion of turning around until the prey is within sight, taking a few necessary leaps toward the prey, then lunging, eyes closed, toward it with a gaping mouth. With that, the bullfrog’s tongue lashes out, wrapping around the victim, then the tongue is pulled back inside the frog’s mouth, prey contained.
Methods and Materials
To help us estimate the population of the 2 different species of frogs on the Durango Nature Studies property, we used several distinctive techniques. One technique we used that extended throughout all 4 capturing sessions was the pitfall traps. We set up 4 of these around the perimeter of the pond, a total of 4 buckets, meaning 2 fences. One fence would extend between every 2 buckets, which were burrowed into the ground; the mouths open for frogs to fall into. When the frogs would hit the fence, they would hop along it, eventually ending up in either of the buckets to the sides of the fence. With this, there were a total of 2 fences. In addition to that, to make the surveyed information as accurate as possible, students that were involved in catching the frogs were also counting frogs from either species when they saw them and made records of those numbers for a separate estimation technique. But when frogs were caught in the second session, they were marked. Records were taken when the marked frogs were recaptured in the third session as yet another technique to estimate the numbers of amphibians on the Durango Nature Studies property. When all the numbers were recorded, we used the equation P=MC/R in order to estimate the population itself of the different species of frogs. P is Population, of course. M is the number of frogs that were caught in session 2 and marked. C is the total number of that species of frog caught in both sessions. R is the number of frogs of that species that were recaptured during session 3 after having been marked. With that equation, although not completely accurate, we were able to estimate the population of the different species of amphibians on the Durango Nature Studies property.
In addition to the estimation of numbers of different species of amphibians on the Durango Nature Studies property, we also conducted several water chemistry tests to determine the health of the water for living creatures in not only the pond on the DNS property, but also in the Florida River running through the property. We looked at several variations of health: Nitrates, Coliforms, Dissolved Oxygen, and pH levels.
To begin, high levels of nitrates, NO3, can start up the large growth of algae, called “algal blooms”. Algal blooms, themselves, are the result of something called “Eutrophication”. Nitrates do this in the form of ammonium, sodium, potassium, and calcium salts, acting as a fertilizer for plants growing in or out of water. Fairly low nitrate levels can be considered healthy, because with high levels of nitrates come large grids of algae, which can lead to a lack of living area in the water, which, in turn, through a chain reaction, has a high chance of leading to the deaths of many creatures, including macroinvertebrates and small animals like fish and crawfish. Other than death, if nitrate levels reach too high of a level, they can cause the impairment of marine creatures’ immune systems, stress to the same creatures, and even the stunting of growth of many aquatic species.
Nitrates can be classified as protein or non-protein compounds. When the given plant is in need of protein, it uses the nitrates in the form of a protein compound to grow; and when the plant is not in need of these proteins, it stores the nitrates as a non-protein solution. But, of course, plants also store the nitrates as a non-protein solution when their normal growth is somehow altered, so high levels of Nitrates might instead result in the constant use of proteins; growing the plants uncontrollably. When this occurs among algae, and causes algal blooms that cause oxygen shortages (a.k.a. hypoxia), the process is called “Eutrophication”. To counter this issue exist only a few variables, such as algae-consuming fish and lack of sunlight. But to counter even those variables, many rivers are victim to a source of supposedly refined, sanitized waste from sewage plants, which is full of nitrates. Although nitrates are needed to sustain a healthy ecosystem, high levels can prove deadly for many aquatic species. To measure levels of nitrates, we took 2 samples of water, 1 from the river, and the other from the DNS pond. When the samples were collected, a chemical tablet was placed into each container. The containers were securely closed, and shaken until the tablets were completely dissolved. Then a second chemical tablet was placed into the water samples. After 5 minutes, the water within the containers took on different colors. These colors were compared, based on intensity of the color, using a key, to determine what the levels of Nitrates looked like.
On the Durango Nature Studies property, the river, like any body of moving water, contains oxygen, which is constantly being dissolved. The river running through the DNS property gains oxygen through photosynthesis by vegetation, as well as straight from the atmosphere itself. When the oxygen enters the water, the river, of course, churns the water, and dissolves a lot of that oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is used only as a media of measurement in order to determine whether or not the levels of oxygen in the river are dangerously low, normal or high. When less oxygen is being produced than is being consumed, it can prove dangerous for any marine life that relies on oxygen for respiration. Like phosphate levels, the levels of dissolved oxygen are measured in milligrams per liter. Dissolved oxygen levels are also dependent on temperatures. The higher the temp, the less dissolved oxygen there is. To determine levels of dissolved oxygen, a “YSI-brand dissolved oxygen meter” is commonly used for it’s simplicity. To use this device, one must place the probe directly into the moving water, or a bottled sample, which must be swirled for the device to work. On the meter’s display, it will read the dissolved oxygen content. One must wait for that number to steady, and when it does, then record the results.
To determine the acidity of a body of water, pH samples can be taken. The possible range for pH in any body of water is 0-14. 7, being the middle measurement, is considered neutral, or healthy. When pH levels dip anywhere below 7, that water source contains indications of acidity. Anywhere above 7 units, that source is considered a base. Content of pH is measured in logarithmic units, the unit of measurement used when measuring earthquakes. Battery acid has a pH of 1. In contrast, ammonia has a pH of 12. Acid rain can range anywhere between 1 and 5 on a scale of pH. Normal streams of water are between 6 and 8 pH.
To measure the pH of a body of water, one may use a strip of “litmus paper”. To do this, one simply takes a sample drop from the body of water they would like to test, drops it onto the paper, and wherever the drop was placed, the litmus paper will begin to change color. One may determine the level of pH based on the coloration of the paper where the drop was placed using a key. When the pH levels of a body of water are too low (between 0 and 4.5 pH), marine species begin to die, even adult fish at a point. In contrast, if pH levels are too high, the body of water may be considered harmful and unsuitable to fish, because at that point (between 9 and 14 pH), the base begins to denature the cellular membranes of fish and macroinvertebrates. In conclusion, pH determines the level of acidity of a body of water, and if levels are too high or low, the water source may be harmful to marine species of animals or macroinvertebrates.
Coliforms are bacteria found commonly in the environment, and more often than usual in the feces and digestive tracts of warm-blooded animals and humans. Surprisingly, high levels of coliform are discovered in bodies of water, originated from the feces of animals, or dumping sewage plants upstream. These bacteria belong to the family “enterobacteriaceae”, and are considered mostly harmless. However, these bacteria may be useful for measuring and determining the health of a body of water based on how many other species of harmful, or disease-causing bacteria are potentially present in the water. If more than 200 colonies of coliforms per 100 milliliters of water are present, the water is considered dangerous due to other bacteria that are possibly present in the water. Bacteria grow faster with the variables of higher temperature or nutrients in the water, which could produce future problems.
To determine the amounts of coliform colonies in a body of water, students can grow colonies of the bacteria. Because coliforms grow into large colonies, they can be visible to the naked eye. To grow the colonies, one must filter the water sample through a membrane filter, then place the filter on a nutrient pad saturated with broth on a petri dish. The plate is inverted, and contained in a watertight plastic bag, which is stored in a water bath over the course of 24 hours. The colonies appear blue, and a magnifying lens is used to identify them. The number of colonies is recorded at a unit of colonies per 100 milliliters of water.
On the Durango Nature Studies property, students collected a wide range of macroinvertebrates from the river using the kick method. With this, one student would disturb a small area of sediment and rocks in the river upstream from where another student held a net, which would capture all the macroinvertebrates. In the pond, students used a dip net to capture macroinvertebrates. A dip net sounds nearly as simple as it is. The net would be waved about in the water, scraping a layer of sediment from the bottom of the pond, and the net would then contain captured macroinvertebrates when taken out of the water. Samples were later examined in trays filled to about ½ centimeter of water with tweezers and a magnifying lens.
Results
After reviewing the data taken on the Durango Nature Studies property, I can see that, for the leopard frog species, there are an estimated 15 leopard frogs on the DNS property. There was also an estimated population of 1 bullfrog on the DNS property. As for macroinvertebrates, we saw a wide range, including: Damselflies (Zygoptera), Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Dragonflies (Anisoptera), and Riffle Beetles (Coleoptera) in the DNS pond. In the Florida river, we discovered the following macroinvertebrates: Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Midges (Ceratopogonidae), Caddis flies (Trichoptera), Dragonflies (Anisoptera), Blackflies (Simuliidae), Riffle Beetles (Coleoptera), and Crane flies (Tipulidae). In the pond, we found 5 damselflies, 10 mayflies, 2 dragonflies, and 3 riffle beetles. The river contained 57 mayflies, 14 midges, 270 caddis flies, 2 dragonflies, 1 blackflies, 11 riffle beetles, and 9 crane flies within the samples taken. As for the statistics based off of the health of the water in the Florida River and DNS pond, we were able to acquire a general estimated idea of the health of the water sources. The pond was found to maintain a pH level of 10. The pond also had a Nitrogen level of 6, Phosphate levels of 4, Dissolved oxygen levels of 1, and the presence of coliforms tested positive. In the Florida River, pH levels were found at about 8, Nitrogen levels at 10, Phosphate levels at 4, Dissolved oxygen at 3, and coliforms also tested positive. Based on macroinvertebrate collections and the Shannon-Weiner index, the diversity index for the DNS pond was found to be 1.21. In 2011 the diversity index was found to be 0.99. Also based on the Shannon-Weiner index, in 2011 the diversity index of the river was found to be 1.03. In 2012, the results showed to be 0.63 for diversity index in the Florida River.
Conclusion and Discussion
The leopard frog population contained within the DNS property does not appear to be at any risk to the invasive species of the bullfrog, which is also found to be present on the DNS property. This would be due to the fact that bullfrogs have never been found to reproduce asexually, and because the estimated population of the bullfrog on the DNS property is 1 frog, it seems as though it’s population is not granted future growth. And in comparison to the estimated 15 leopard frogs on the property, it also seems as though the leopard frog population isn’t at much of a risk due to it’s outnumbering the bullfrogs’ estimated population to a non-risky extent. However, the bullfrog species has been studied to typically be a very aggressive species, and might eat anything it can overpower, which, in this case, might include leopard frogs. Also, due to the bullfrogs’ aggressiveness, one bullfrog serves the possibility of pushing any number of leopard frogs into the water of the pond, where the leopard frogs have the odds of being digested by a bluegill. So, in conclusion, although the chances of the leopard frog population diminishing to dangerously low levels themselves are very low, the possibility still exists that it may happen.
As for the biodiversity between the species of macroinvertebrates found to live within the DNS pond, it appears as though, although the biodiversity between the species of macroinvertebrates may be low, the diversity index, based on the Shannon-Weiner index equation, seems to have not changed from 2011 to the current year, 2012. This might be due to the high nitrate and phosphate levels, as well as the low-recorded level of dissolved oxygen. The immensely high levels of nitrates due to the photosynthesis of all the native plants of the pond probably lead to the heightened growth rate of those very plants. The fact that the pond is very open to the sky, almost always receiving the sun’s rays throughout the average spring, summer or fall season’s average day makes it seem as though that amount of sunlight is a main factor to the dangerously high levels of nitrates. This poses as a threat to the bluegill fish and macroinvertebrates living in the pond, taking away from their living and swimming area. Also, the pH is far above dangerous, which would be 9, because in reality it is estimated at around 10. So, in addition to the factor of the algal blooms and heightened plant growth in the pond on the DNS property, the high levels of pH denature the cell membranes protecting the cells of all the macroinvertebrates, both contributing factors to the possible reason the diversity index of these insects has not grown over the past year. The harmful factors to the macroinvertebrates’ different species might not allow any populations to increase, which, in turn, would not allow the diversity index to change. Still, all of the populations of macroinvertebrates seem to have decreased at similar rates over the last year, so they might be in danger of continuously growing nitrate, pH and phosphate levels. Without enough macroinvertebrates and other marine species to eat away at the plants underwater in the pond on the DNS property, the plants may continuously grow at hazardous levels. Perhaps Durango Nature Studies, in the future, may plant several trees on one side of the pond in order to provide shade to the plants in the pond, possibly decreasing nitrate levels during photosynthesis. Another idea would be to introduce other vegetarian marine species to the pond in order to decrease plant population, as well as add an aeration system, like a waterfall, to the pond in order to circulate the oxygen that would hopefully allow macroinvertebrates to respire properly and thrive.
There is still the probability that the data collection techniques we students used as a whole were not necessarily accurate enough to determine the true health of the pond. For example, there are alternative, and more reliable, methods to determining the nitrate levels of the pond. An alternative, more accurate, method would include the use of an ion specific probe, which could easily, and very accurately, measure nitrate, or even phosphate, levels in the pond. Of course, the students were not granted access to a device such as this, and it was therefore not possible to use.
The biodiversity of the Florida River on the DNS property actually looks as though it has grown worse since last year in 2011. The diversity index of macroinvertebrates living in the river has gone from 1.03 in 2011 down to 0.63, as recorded this year. There are several factors that might have brought about the cause of this. One of which may include the snowpack from last winter that usually melts into the Florida seemed much lower than it did in previous years. This, of course, makes the river’s amount of cubic feet of water per second reduce, which, due to the reduction of oxygen attempting to enter the water, decreases the population of macroinvertebrates in the river. Also, because there appears to be less water flowing in the Florida River, because of the sewage plant pouring waste into the river, as well as animals defecating their bowels upstream, the levels of coliform probably increase, which, in turn, fertilizes many plants living in the water, providing for hazardous growth, which may prove harmful to many marine species trying to live in the river. Perhaps, if possible, citizens of Durango may sign a form, banning future dumping of sewage into Florida River, in order to protect the health of the river, as well as prevent future eutrophication.
Another contributing factor to the high levels of nitrates in the river is the amount of sunlight that reaches the Florida’s plants through a thinner layer of moving water that is the Florida, in contrast to the past years, when the river’s water level was higher, therefore leading to less algal blooms. When more sunlight reaches the plants, of course, it creates more nitrates through photosynthesis, leading up to possible threatening future eutrophication.
Like I stated earlier regarding the methods we used to collect data, the data we collect could be more accurate in the future if we used more strategic methods. However, other ideas might be too hurtful to the budget, like using the MPN method for collecting coliform samples rather than the MF method, because the MPN method requires several expensive materials, including chemicals, fermentation tubes, etc. Perhaps it would be better to stick with the strategies we already use to collect data.
Works Cited
"Northern Leopard Frog." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/northern-leopard-frog/>.
"Bullfrog." Bullfrog. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/bullfrog.htm>.
"Nitrates." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrates>.
"Nitrate in Soils and Plants." G9804. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9804>.
"Phosphate." Phosphate. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <https://www.msu.edu/course/lbs/171l/Phosphate.html>.
"5.2 Dissolved Oxygen and Biochemical Oxygen Demand." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/vms52.cfm>.
"Water Properties: PH." , from USGS Water-Science School. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/ph.html>.
"Aquaculture." : Effects of High and Low PH Levels in Water on Fish. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://aqua-culture.blogspot.com/2007/01/effects-of-high-and-low-ph-levels-in.html>.
"What Are Coliforms?" What Are Coliforms? N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.bfhd.wa.gov/info/coliform.php>.
"BASIN: General Information on Fecal Coliform." BASIN: General Information on Fecal Coliform. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/NEW/info/FColi.html>.
Banas, Timothy. "How to Measure Dissolved Oxygen With a YSI Meter." EHow. Demand Media, 05 May 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/how_6461705_measure-dissolved-oxygen-ysi-meter.html>.
"Methods of Measuring." Methods of Measuring. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.scuba-eco.com/en/2900.asp>.
"Montana Field Guide." (Family) Riffle Beetles -. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://fieldguide.mt.gov/displaySpecies.aspx?family=Elmidae>.
Amphibian population estimates and ecosystem assessment on the Durango nature Studies property
Introduction
Durango Nature Studies is an area located on County Road 310/318 in Durango, Colorado solely dedicated to the main purpose of the building of a respectful, happy, and understanding relationship between people (especially students) and nature. It is a non-profit organization that does well in providing environmental information to students in the 4-Corners area. The property itself is fairly large, and contains several kinds of habitats, as listed: riparian, meadows, oak woodlands, piñon-juniper forests, and desert arroyos.
Natural History
Bullfrogs (Rana Catesbeiana) were introduced, accidentally, to Colorado quite a while ago, and have since been considered an invasive species, given the fact that they compete for prey and resources. Invasive species are seen as a concern due to the fact that invasive species can throw other species to the verge of extinction within that area. For example, bullfrogs, as seen in the Durango Nature Studies property, actually attempt to surround the leopard frog population of a small pond. There, they scare and force the leopard frogs into the center of the pond, where the bluegill fish live. There, the bluegill feast on the leopard frogs, therefore diminishing the population of the leopard frogs. Leopard frogs are no longer as strong a population as they once were in Colorado, having been invaded by bullfrogs and other species in ponds, etc. spread throughout the state.
Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) have adapted to cooler climates, being found at above 3,000 meters. Although raccoons prey upon them, as well as other frogs and even humans, leopard frogs themselves prey on smaller frogs, crickets and worms. Their mouths have even been found to accommodate the size of birds, and even garter snakes. Leopard frogs typically live near ponds, swamps and marshes, but have also been found to live in slow-moving streams that extend through a variety of habitats, including forested and open areas. Leopard frogs, like any frog, remain tadpoles until adulthood, when they become actual frogs.
Bullfrogs can be found along the edges of the water contained within ponds, lakes, swamps and other bodies of water. Typical life span is 8 to 10 years. Bullfrogs have actually, and hilariously, been found to feed on any living animal it can possibly overpower, including small turtles, rodents, snakes, birds, bats, and even other bullfrogs. Bullfrogs use their repetitive biting manor as well as several tongue lashes to conquer any large, powerful prey. To capture any prey, bullfrogs go through the motion of turning around until the prey is within sight, taking a few necessary leaps toward the prey, then lunging, eyes closed, toward it with a gaping mouth. With that, the bullfrog’s tongue lashes out, wrapping around the victim, then the tongue is pulled back inside the frog’s mouth, prey contained.
Methods and Materials
To help us estimate the population of the 2 different species of frogs on the Durango Nature Studies property, we used several distinctive techniques. One technique we used that extended throughout all 4 capturing sessions was the pitfall traps. We set up 4 of these around the perimeter of the pond, a total of 4 buckets, meaning 2 fences. One fence would extend between every 2 buckets, which were burrowed into the ground; the mouths open for frogs to fall into. When the frogs would hit the fence, they would hop along it, eventually ending up in either of the buckets to the sides of the fence. With this, there were a total of 2 fences. In addition to that, to make the surveyed information as accurate as possible, students that were involved in catching the frogs were also counting frogs from either species when they saw them and made records of those numbers for a separate estimation technique. But when frogs were caught in the second session, they were marked. Records were taken when the marked frogs were recaptured in the third session as yet another technique to estimate the numbers of amphibians on the Durango Nature Studies property. When all the numbers were recorded, we used the equation P=MC/R in order to estimate the population itself of the different species of frogs. P is Population, of course. M is the number of frogs that were caught in session 2 and marked. C is the total number of that species of frog caught in both sessions. R is the number of frogs of that species that were recaptured during session 3 after having been marked. With that equation, although not completely accurate, we were able to estimate the population of the different species of amphibians on the Durango Nature Studies property.
In addition to the estimation of numbers of different species of amphibians on the Durango Nature Studies property, we also conducted several water chemistry tests to determine the health of the water for living creatures in not only the pond on the DNS property, but also in the Florida River running through the property. We looked at several variations of health: Nitrates, Coliforms, Dissolved Oxygen, and pH levels.
To begin, high levels of nitrates, NO3, can start up the large growth of algae, called “algal blooms”. Algal blooms, themselves, are the result of something called “Eutrophication”. Nitrates do this in the form of ammonium, sodium, potassium, and calcium salts, acting as a fertilizer for plants growing in or out of water. Fairly low nitrate levels can be considered healthy, because with high levels of nitrates come large grids of algae, which can lead to a lack of living area in the water, which, in turn, through a chain reaction, has a high chance of leading to the deaths of many creatures, including macroinvertebrates and small animals like fish and crawfish. Other than death, if nitrate levels reach too high of a level, they can cause the impairment of marine creatures’ immune systems, stress to the same creatures, and even the stunting of growth of many aquatic species.
Nitrates can be classified as protein or non-protein compounds. When the given plant is in need of protein, it uses the nitrates in the form of a protein compound to grow; and when the plant is not in need of these proteins, it stores the nitrates as a non-protein solution. But, of course, plants also store the nitrates as a non-protein solution when their normal growth is somehow altered, so high levels of Nitrates might instead result in the constant use of proteins; growing the plants uncontrollably. When this occurs among algae, and causes algal blooms that cause oxygen shortages (a.k.a. hypoxia), the process is called “Eutrophication”. To counter this issue exist only a few variables, such as algae-consuming fish and lack of sunlight. But to counter even those variables, many rivers are victim to a source of supposedly refined, sanitized waste from sewage plants, which is full of nitrates. Although nitrates are needed to sustain a healthy ecosystem, high levels can prove deadly for many aquatic species. To measure levels of nitrates, we took 2 samples of water, 1 from the river, and the other from the DNS pond. When the samples were collected, a chemical tablet was placed into each container. The containers were securely closed, and shaken until the tablets were completely dissolved. Then a second chemical tablet was placed into the water samples. After 5 minutes, the water within the containers took on different colors. These colors were compared, based on intensity of the color, using a key, to determine what the levels of Nitrates looked like.
On the Durango Nature Studies property, the river, like any body of moving water, contains oxygen, which is constantly being dissolved. The river running through the DNS property gains oxygen through photosynthesis by vegetation, as well as straight from the atmosphere itself. When the oxygen enters the water, the river, of course, churns the water, and dissolves a lot of that oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is used only as a media of measurement in order to determine whether or not the levels of oxygen in the river are dangerously low, normal or high. When less oxygen is being produced than is being consumed, it can prove dangerous for any marine life that relies on oxygen for respiration. Like phosphate levels, the levels of dissolved oxygen are measured in milligrams per liter. Dissolved oxygen levels are also dependent on temperatures. The higher the temp, the less dissolved oxygen there is. To determine levels of dissolved oxygen, a “YSI-brand dissolved oxygen meter” is commonly used for it’s simplicity. To use this device, one must place the probe directly into the moving water, or a bottled sample, which must be swirled for the device to work. On the meter’s display, it will read the dissolved oxygen content. One must wait for that number to steady, and when it does, then record the results.
To determine the acidity of a body of water, pH samples can be taken. The possible range for pH in any body of water is 0-14. 7, being the middle measurement, is considered neutral, or healthy. When pH levels dip anywhere below 7, that water source contains indications of acidity. Anywhere above 7 units, that source is considered a base. Content of pH is measured in logarithmic units, the unit of measurement used when measuring earthquakes. Battery acid has a pH of 1. In contrast, ammonia has a pH of 12. Acid rain can range anywhere between 1 and 5 on a scale of pH. Normal streams of water are between 6 and 8 pH.
To measure the pH of a body of water, one may use a strip of “litmus paper”. To do this, one simply takes a sample drop from the body of water they would like to test, drops it onto the paper, and wherever the drop was placed, the litmus paper will begin to change color. One may determine the level of pH based on the coloration of the paper where the drop was placed using a key. When the pH levels of a body of water are too low (between 0 and 4.5 pH), marine species begin to die, even adult fish at a point. In contrast, if pH levels are too high, the body of water may be considered harmful and unsuitable to fish, because at that point (between 9 and 14 pH), the base begins to denature the cellular membranes of fish and macroinvertebrates. In conclusion, pH determines the level of acidity of a body of water, and if levels are too high or low, the water source may be harmful to marine species of animals or macroinvertebrates.
Coliforms are bacteria found commonly in the environment, and more often than usual in the feces and digestive tracts of warm-blooded animals and humans. Surprisingly, high levels of coliform are discovered in bodies of water, originated from the feces of animals, or dumping sewage plants upstream. These bacteria belong to the family “enterobacteriaceae”, and are considered mostly harmless. However, these bacteria may be useful for measuring and determining the health of a body of water based on how many other species of harmful, or disease-causing bacteria are potentially present in the water. If more than 200 colonies of coliforms per 100 milliliters of water are present, the water is considered dangerous due to other bacteria that are possibly present in the water. Bacteria grow faster with the variables of higher temperature or nutrients in the water, which could produce future problems.
To determine the amounts of coliform colonies in a body of water, students can grow colonies of the bacteria. Because coliforms grow into large colonies, they can be visible to the naked eye. To grow the colonies, one must filter the water sample through a membrane filter, then place the filter on a nutrient pad saturated with broth on a petri dish. The plate is inverted, and contained in a watertight plastic bag, which is stored in a water bath over the course of 24 hours. The colonies appear blue, and a magnifying lens is used to identify them. The number of colonies is recorded at a unit of colonies per 100 milliliters of water.
On the Durango Nature Studies property, students collected a wide range of macroinvertebrates from the river using the kick method. With this, one student would disturb a small area of sediment and rocks in the river upstream from where another student held a net, which would capture all the macroinvertebrates. In the pond, students used a dip net to capture macroinvertebrates. A dip net sounds nearly as simple as it is. The net would be waved about in the water, scraping a layer of sediment from the bottom of the pond, and the net would then contain captured macroinvertebrates when taken out of the water. Samples were later examined in trays filled to about ½ centimeter of water with tweezers and a magnifying lens.
Results
After reviewing the data taken on the Durango Nature Studies property, I can see that, for the leopard frog species, there are an estimated 15 leopard frogs on the DNS property. There was also an estimated population of 1 bullfrog on the DNS property. As for macroinvertebrates, we saw a wide range, including: Damselflies (Zygoptera), Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Dragonflies (Anisoptera), and Riffle Beetles (Coleoptera) in the DNS pond. In the Florida river, we discovered the following macroinvertebrates: Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Midges (Ceratopogonidae), Caddis flies (Trichoptera), Dragonflies (Anisoptera), Blackflies (Simuliidae), Riffle Beetles (Coleoptera), and Crane flies (Tipulidae). In the pond, we found 5 damselflies, 10 mayflies, 2 dragonflies, and 3 riffle beetles. The river contained 57 mayflies, 14 midges, 270 caddis flies, 2 dragonflies, 1 blackflies, 11 riffle beetles, and 9 crane flies within the samples taken. As for the statistics based off of the health of the water in the Florida River and DNS pond, we were able to acquire a general estimated idea of the health of the water sources. The pond was found to maintain a pH level of 10. The pond also had a Nitrogen level of 6, Phosphate levels of 4, Dissolved oxygen levels of 1, and the presence of coliforms tested positive. In the Florida River, pH levels were found at about 8, Nitrogen levels at 10, Phosphate levels at 4, Dissolved oxygen at 3, and coliforms also tested positive. Based on macroinvertebrate collections and the Shannon-Weiner index, the diversity index for the DNS pond was found to be 1.21. In 2011 the diversity index was found to be 0.99. Also based on the Shannon-Weiner index, in 2011 the diversity index of the river was found to be 1.03. In 2012, the results showed to be 0.63 for diversity index in the Florida River.
Conclusion and Discussion
The leopard frog population contained within the DNS property does not appear to be at any risk to the invasive species of the bullfrog, which is also found to be present on the DNS property. This would be due to the fact that bullfrogs have never been found to reproduce asexually, and because the estimated population of the bullfrog on the DNS property is 1 frog, it seems as though it’s population is not granted future growth. And in comparison to the estimated 15 leopard frogs on the property, it also seems as though the leopard frog population isn’t at much of a risk due to it’s outnumbering the bullfrogs’ estimated population to a non-risky extent. However, the bullfrog species has been studied to typically be a very aggressive species, and might eat anything it can overpower, which, in this case, might include leopard frogs. Also, due to the bullfrogs’ aggressiveness, one bullfrog serves the possibility of pushing any number of leopard frogs into the water of the pond, where the leopard frogs have the odds of being digested by a bluegill. So, in conclusion, although the chances of the leopard frog population diminishing to dangerously low levels themselves are very low, the possibility still exists that it may happen.
As for the biodiversity between the species of macroinvertebrates found to live within the DNS pond, it appears as though, although the biodiversity between the species of macroinvertebrates may be low, the diversity index, based on the Shannon-Weiner index equation, seems to have not changed from 2011 to the current year, 2012. This might be due to the high nitrate and phosphate levels, as well as the low-recorded level of dissolved oxygen. The immensely high levels of nitrates due to the photosynthesis of all the native plants of the pond probably lead to the heightened growth rate of those very plants. The fact that the pond is very open to the sky, almost always receiving the sun’s rays throughout the average spring, summer or fall season’s average day makes it seem as though that amount of sunlight is a main factor to the dangerously high levels of nitrates. This poses as a threat to the bluegill fish and macroinvertebrates living in the pond, taking away from their living and swimming area. Also, the pH is far above dangerous, which would be 9, because in reality it is estimated at around 10. So, in addition to the factor of the algal blooms and heightened plant growth in the pond on the DNS property, the high levels of pH denature the cell membranes protecting the cells of all the macroinvertebrates, both contributing factors to the possible reason the diversity index of these insects has not grown over the past year. The harmful factors to the macroinvertebrates’ different species might not allow any populations to increase, which, in turn, would not allow the diversity index to change. Still, all of the populations of macroinvertebrates seem to have decreased at similar rates over the last year, so they might be in danger of continuously growing nitrate, pH and phosphate levels. Without enough macroinvertebrates and other marine species to eat away at the plants underwater in the pond on the DNS property, the plants may continuously grow at hazardous levels. Perhaps Durango Nature Studies, in the future, may plant several trees on one side of the pond in order to provide shade to the plants in the pond, possibly decreasing nitrate levels during photosynthesis. Another idea would be to introduce other vegetarian marine species to the pond in order to decrease plant population, as well as add an aeration system, like a waterfall, to the pond in order to circulate the oxygen that would hopefully allow macroinvertebrates to respire properly and thrive.
There is still the probability that the data collection techniques we students used as a whole were not necessarily accurate enough to determine the true health of the pond. For example, there are alternative, and more reliable, methods to determining the nitrate levels of the pond. An alternative, more accurate, method would include the use of an ion specific probe, which could easily, and very accurately, measure nitrate, or even phosphate, levels in the pond. Of course, the students were not granted access to a device such as this, and it was therefore not possible to use.
The biodiversity of the Florida River on the DNS property actually looks as though it has grown worse since last year in 2011. The diversity index of macroinvertebrates living in the river has gone from 1.03 in 2011 down to 0.63, as recorded this year. There are several factors that might have brought about the cause of this. One of which may include the snowpack from last winter that usually melts into the Florida seemed much lower than it did in previous years. This, of course, makes the river’s amount of cubic feet of water per second reduce, which, due to the reduction of oxygen attempting to enter the water, decreases the population of macroinvertebrates in the river. Also, because there appears to be less water flowing in the Florida River, because of the sewage plant pouring waste into the river, as well as animals defecating their bowels upstream, the levels of coliform probably increase, which, in turn, fertilizes many plants living in the water, providing for hazardous growth, which may prove harmful to many marine species trying to live in the river. Perhaps, if possible, citizens of Durango may sign a form, banning future dumping of sewage into Florida River, in order to protect the health of the river, as well as prevent future eutrophication.
Another contributing factor to the high levels of nitrates in the river is the amount of sunlight that reaches the Florida’s plants through a thinner layer of moving water that is the Florida, in contrast to the past years, when the river’s water level was higher, therefore leading to less algal blooms. When more sunlight reaches the plants, of course, it creates more nitrates through photosynthesis, leading up to possible threatening future eutrophication.
Like I stated earlier regarding the methods we used to collect data, the data we collect could be more accurate in the future if we used more strategic methods. However, other ideas might be too hurtful to the budget, like using the MPN method for collecting coliform samples rather than the MF method, because the MPN method requires several expensive materials, including chemicals, fermentation tubes, etc. Perhaps it would be better to stick with the strategies we already use to collect data.
Works Cited
"Northern Leopard Frog." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/northern-leopard-frog/>.
"Bullfrog." Bullfrog. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/bullfrog.htm>.
"Nitrates." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrates>.
"Nitrate in Soils and Plants." G9804. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9804>.
"Phosphate." Phosphate. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <https://www.msu.edu/course/lbs/171l/Phosphate.html>.
"5.2 Dissolved Oxygen and Biochemical Oxygen Demand." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/vms52.cfm>.
"Water Properties: PH." , from USGS Water-Science School. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/ph.html>.
"Aquaculture." : Effects of High and Low PH Levels in Water on Fish. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://aqua-culture.blogspot.com/2007/01/effects-of-high-and-low-ph-levels-in.html>.
"What Are Coliforms?" What Are Coliforms? N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.bfhd.wa.gov/info/coliform.php>.
"BASIN: General Information on Fecal Coliform." BASIN: General Information on Fecal Coliform. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/NEW/info/FColi.html>.
Banas, Timothy. "How to Measure Dissolved Oxygen With a YSI Meter." EHow. Demand Media, 05 May 2010. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/how_6461705_measure-dissolved-oxygen-ysi-meter.html>.
"Methods of Measuring." Methods of Measuring. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.scuba-eco.com/en/2900.asp>.
"Montana Field Guide." (Family) Riffle Beetles -. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://fieldguide.mt.gov/displaySpecies.aspx?family=Elmidae>.
Colony Collapse Disorder Management Plan
American Colony Collapse Disorder Counteractive Management Plan
Harrison Quick
1) Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus management
v A very potential issue found in relation to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) includes the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV). Studies have found this virus in many dead bodies of bees originally living in controlled colonies in the United States (Colony, 2012). I have given a conceivable, and possible, solution to the IAPV issue that may put an end to a potentially large negative factor, affecting bees across the nation.
· To begin, IAPV is a virus, meaning there is no way to completely extract it or kill it off from within an infected host. However, there may be a way to prevent bees from receiving the virus altogether in the first place.
· To possibly counter the virus within populations of Honeybees in the US, scientists may use a series of injections and diets within controlled colonies.
· To pay for the injections, habitats, and other needed materials to complete the experimental CCD management method, including: the bees themselves, food for the bees, farmers, scientists, etc., money will be donated through general biological science donations; the “Honeydrop Beverage” company’s already-existent fundraiser for bee farmers across America (Honeydrop, 2011); and, with the hopefully proven success over time, possibly a government-approved method of extracting money from taxpayers.
· The idea of this counter-IAPV action is to immunize honeybees in controlled colonies in the United States. This method will be completed through the execution of the following actions:
Ø Bio-domes and/or traditional bee colonies, closed off from the outside world entirely will be created, and populated with 30,000 to 100,000 Honeybees per colony.
Ø A test will be taken for the origin of all of the bees in order to make sure they are not already infected with IAPV after having been previously purchased by a trusting Honeybee farm. Any infected bees will be disposed of, and bees will have to be re-ordered from a different company in order to keep the management solution as scientific as possible.
Ø The majority (about 80%) of the bees in the colonies will be injected with a very weakened form of the Israeli
Acute Paralysis Virus after several weeks of coming to an understanding with their new environments.
Ø Approximately 1 week after the bees have been injected with the IAPV, the bees would then be given a new diet enriched with a strong anti-virus solution, and left for the next month to breed and mingle. They will then be subjected to another dose of the same diet. This pattern of food will need to continue for the next 5 months.
Ø After having bred the Honeybees, scientists will dispose of the adult honeybees, and the new generation of offspring will be kept within the colony. Being that the adults passed the IAPV onto their offspring, the IAPV will spread within the bees’ bodies, but not to an exponential level, given that the IAPV is still very weak. When the offspring reach exactly 1 year of age, they will begin to be given the same monthly doses of the same diets the previous generation of bees were given monthly. The diets would go on for exactly 6 months, and in order to control the virus at a healthy rate, the bees’ food and environment will be enriched with antibiotics.
Ø This method for IAPV control would continue for 3 more generations of bees, when the bees would possibly begin to develop immunities to IAPV.
Ø The newly immunized bees will be released from their colonies across the US, now allowed to continue life in nature again.
Ø Over the years, the immunized bees would breed, and potentially be protected and immunized from IAPV, allowing them to pollinate American crops without delay.
· The virus itself, IAPV, has not been proven yet to be the main cause for CCD, and in reality, it is likely that the cause for CCD isn’t just one factor in particular, but instead a combination of many factors. This previously stated management plan would be used not only as a management resource, but also as an experimental reference to determine how great the affect of IAPV actually has on Colony Collapse Disorder. If possible, before the previously mentioned action plan goes into full affect, honeybee farmers could implement other potential management plans with correspondence to the previously mentioned step in this management plan in order to determine the affects of different possible factors affecting CCD. With those actions, the CCD problem could be dealt with earlier on with a smaller budget, and the previous step in the action plan altogether would work with the following steps in order to diminish CCD results as a whole.
2) Varroa Mite management
v Traces of Varroa Mites have been recorded from the dead bodies of many bees that appear to have been affected by Colony Collapse Disorder. Varroa mites had been the subjects of attempt to avoid in 1922, when the United States congress passed a law banning honeybee imports in order to prevent the spread of foreign diseases within the US. Varroa mites were the disease-carrying, bee-attacking critters behind the attempt for aversion in the US, although that didn’t stop them. Somehow they had been able to infiltrate the United States, and were first found in Florida. The mites were still the subjects of attempt for aversion through the quarantine of Florida at that time. Still, the mites made their way to the rest of the United States, and we see them now as a potentially hidden problem for honeybee colonies in the nation today (Jacobsen, 2008). Like IAPV, although these mites may not be entirely responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder in America, they have been found linked to the deaths of many bees originating from controlled colonies.
· Within the next 2 years, my proposal is to implement a management step in this entire plan to counteract on the Varroa Mites, which seem to theoretically pose as a threat to the honeybees of America. This plan would use the chemical “fluvalinate” as an attempt to kill off many of the Varroa Mites before they enter the colony, although it may possibly weaken the bees as they work (Anti-Varroa). The acid could, in fact, serve as a negative factor in the attempt to control Varroa Mite counts. However, through the use of this plan, bees would not be entirely be subjected to the chemical.
· To pay for the execution of this step in the plan, regulated bee colonies across America will post advertisement for anyone from simple gardeners to agriculturalists to work at the colonies, and begin to plant several species of thyme and moss around the colonies. Money would also, again, come from the “Honeydrop Beverage” honeybee fundraiser, and also from money donated to the USDA (US Department of Agriculture).
· In order to hypothetically keep Varroa Mites out of the honeybee colonies in the US, the following steps will be taken within the next 2 years:
Ø Gardeners, landscapers, agriculturalists, etc. will be hired to work at a given honeybee farm, and paid with the funded money previously mentioned, to not only seed and plant, but grow thyme and moss near and around the opening to the colonies, preferably to be extended 20 to 30 meters from the opening itself.
Ø Scientists and agriculturalists will work together to saturate the thyme and moss with a concentrated, yet low dose of the fluvalinate, until all of the plants have been dosed for the colonies.
Ø After that, the plants and moss will receive the same fluvalinate doses once every 2 months for 1 year, which will be a substantial amount of time to decide whether the plants have a negative, positive, or inexistent affect on the bees suffering from CCD.
· Although the chemical fluvalinate may have negative affects on the bees suffering from Varroa Mites, this step in the method for controlling CCD within colonies of honeybees in the US will hopefully turn out in favor of the bees. However, this is a long-term plan, and to make it possible to continue the existence of controlled honeybee colonies in the US, honeybees must still be bred and bountiful, which leads me into the following step.
3) Attempting to understand suffering bee colonies in the US
v Colony Collapse Disorder is a combined affect of several variables, whether they be pesticides, diseases, viruses, mites, diets, etc. To gain an understanding of which variables have greater-than-average involvement with CCD, the next step to the management plan is a monitoring of honeybees in a selected variety of states in the US, and hypothetically the first that should be executed.
· The states that will be subjected to the monitoring programs are as follows: Florida, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Arkansas. These states have been chosen given their diversity in climate, environment, human consumption, and distance to the equator.
· In each state, the same experiments will go into effect as follow step by step:
Ø The US Department of Agriculture will be responsible for the monitoring program listed here. The funding will be taken from taxpayers, and the Honeydrop Beverage fundraiser again.
Ø 20 CCD-affected colonies of bees in each state within a wide span of the general area of each state will stop production, and approximately half of the bees from each colony will be neutralized and frozen.
Ø Each subject will be examined first for Varroa Mites, as this examination require no incisions into the body of any bee itself, but instead requires a microscope.
Ø After that, the subjects will be scanned for diseases, viruses, and pesticides, in that order. Then the subjected bees will be examined further implicating their diets.
Ø Records will be taken for each potential variable, and sent to a mutual database in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, where the data will be recorded and results throughout the US dealt with.
· My general hypothesis for the results of the monitoring program is: The data collected from the previously mentioned monitoring program will vary with the altitude and climate for each state the bees reside in.
Colony Collapse Disorder Works Cited
Gerken, James. "Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: New Study Suggests Mass Extinction Not Occurring, Little Actually Known." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/bee-colony-collapse-disorder_n_1505885.html>.
Jacobsen, Rowan. Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008. Print.
"Go to Science." Science Magazine: Sign In. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/318/5848/283.full>.
"BioScience." BioOne. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1641/B580503>.
"Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study." PLOS ONE:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006481>.
"Honeydrop Beverages Fights Bee Colony Collapse Disorder With Tea, Juice: Scientific American." Honeydrop Beverages Fights Bee Colony Collapse Disorder With Tea, Juice: Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=honeydrop-beverages-fights-bee-colo-2011-10>.
"Common Pesticide Implicated Bee Colony Collapse Disorder | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network." Common Pesticide Implicated Bee Colony Collapse Disorder | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network. Katherine Harmon, 6 Apr. 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/04/06/common-pesticide-implicated-bee-colony-collapse-disorder/>.
"Anti-Varroa Bottom Board." Anti-Varroa Bottom Board. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://www.apiservices.com/happykeeper/index_us.htm>.
Harrison Quick
1) Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus management
v A very potential issue found in relation to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) includes the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV). Studies have found this virus in many dead bodies of bees originally living in controlled colonies in the United States (Colony, 2012). I have given a conceivable, and possible, solution to the IAPV issue that may put an end to a potentially large negative factor, affecting bees across the nation.
· To begin, IAPV is a virus, meaning there is no way to completely extract it or kill it off from within an infected host. However, there may be a way to prevent bees from receiving the virus altogether in the first place.
· To possibly counter the virus within populations of Honeybees in the US, scientists may use a series of injections and diets within controlled colonies.
· To pay for the injections, habitats, and other needed materials to complete the experimental CCD management method, including: the bees themselves, food for the bees, farmers, scientists, etc., money will be donated through general biological science donations; the “Honeydrop Beverage” company’s already-existent fundraiser for bee farmers across America (Honeydrop, 2011); and, with the hopefully proven success over time, possibly a government-approved method of extracting money from taxpayers.
· The idea of this counter-IAPV action is to immunize honeybees in controlled colonies in the United States. This method will be completed through the execution of the following actions:
Ø Bio-domes and/or traditional bee colonies, closed off from the outside world entirely will be created, and populated with 30,000 to 100,000 Honeybees per colony.
Ø A test will be taken for the origin of all of the bees in order to make sure they are not already infected with IAPV after having been previously purchased by a trusting Honeybee farm. Any infected bees will be disposed of, and bees will have to be re-ordered from a different company in order to keep the management solution as scientific as possible.
Ø The majority (about 80%) of the bees in the colonies will be injected with a very weakened form of the Israeli
Acute Paralysis Virus after several weeks of coming to an understanding with their new environments.
Ø Approximately 1 week after the bees have been injected with the IAPV, the bees would then be given a new diet enriched with a strong anti-virus solution, and left for the next month to breed and mingle. They will then be subjected to another dose of the same diet. This pattern of food will need to continue for the next 5 months.
Ø After having bred the Honeybees, scientists will dispose of the adult honeybees, and the new generation of offspring will be kept within the colony. Being that the adults passed the IAPV onto their offspring, the IAPV will spread within the bees’ bodies, but not to an exponential level, given that the IAPV is still very weak. When the offspring reach exactly 1 year of age, they will begin to be given the same monthly doses of the same diets the previous generation of bees were given monthly. The diets would go on for exactly 6 months, and in order to control the virus at a healthy rate, the bees’ food and environment will be enriched with antibiotics.
Ø This method for IAPV control would continue for 3 more generations of bees, when the bees would possibly begin to develop immunities to IAPV.
Ø The newly immunized bees will be released from their colonies across the US, now allowed to continue life in nature again.
Ø Over the years, the immunized bees would breed, and potentially be protected and immunized from IAPV, allowing them to pollinate American crops without delay.
· The virus itself, IAPV, has not been proven yet to be the main cause for CCD, and in reality, it is likely that the cause for CCD isn’t just one factor in particular, but instead a combination of many factors. This previously stated management plan would be used not only as a management resource, but also as an experimental reference to determine how great the affect of IAPV actually has on Colony Collapse Disorder. If possible, before the previously mentioned action plan goes into full affect, honeybee farmers could implement other potential management plans with correspondence to the previously mentioned step in this management plan in order to determine the affects of different possible factors affecting CCD. With those actions, the CCD problem could be dealt with earlier on with a smaller budget, and the previous step in the action plan altogether would work with the following steps in order to diminish CCD results as a whole.
2) Varroa Mite management
v Traces of Varroa Mites have been recorded from the dead bodies of many bees that appear to have been affected by Colony Collapse Disorder. Varroa mites had been the subjects of attempt to avoid in 1922, when the United States congress passed a law banning honeybee imports in order to prevent the spread of foreign diseases within the US. Varroa mites were the disease-carrying, bee-attacking critters behind the attempt for aversion in the US, although that didn’t stop them. Somehow they had been able to infiltrate the United States, and were first found in Florida. The mites were still the subjects of attempt for aversion through the quarantine of Florida at that time. Still, the mites made their way to the rest of the United States, and we see them now as a potentially hidden problem for honeybee colonies in the nation today (Jacobsen, 2008). Like IAPV, although these mites may not be entirely responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder in America, they have been found linked to the deaths of many bees originating from controlled colonies.
· Within the next 2 years, my proposal is to implement a management step in this entire plan to counteract on the Varroa Mites, which seem to theoretically pose as a threat to the honeybees of America. This plan would use the chemical “fluvalinate” as an attempt to kill off many of the Varroa Mites before they enter the colony, although it may possibly weaken the bees as they work (Anti-Varroa). The acid could, in fact, serve as a negative factor in the attempt to control Varroa Mite counts. However, through the use of this plan, bees would not be entirely be subjected to the chemical.
· To pay for the execution of this step in the plan, regulated bee colonies across America will post advertisement for anyone from simple gardeners to agriculturalists to work at the colonies, and begin to plant several species of thyme and moss around the colonies. Money would also, again, come from the “Honeydrop Beverage” honeybee fundraiser, and also from money donated to the USDA (US Department of Agriculture).
· In order to hypothetically keep Varroa Mites out of the honeybee colonies in the US, the following steps will be taken within the next 2 years:
Ø Gardeners, landscapers, agriculturalists, etc. will be hired to work at a given honeybee farm, and paid with the funded money previously mentioned, to not only seed and plant, but grow thyme and moss near and around the opening to the colonies, preferably to be extended 20 to 30 meters from the opening itself.
Ø Scientists and agriculturalists will work together to saturate the thyme and moss with a concentrated, yet low dose of the fluvalinate, until all of the plants have been dosed for the colonies.
Ø After that, the plants and moss will receive the same fluvalinate doses once every 2 months for 1 year, which will be a substantial amount of time to decide whether the plants have a negative, positive, or inexistent affect on the bees suffering from CCD.
· Although the chemical fluvalinate may have negative affects on the bees suffering from Varroa Mites, this step in the method for controlling CCD within colonies of honeybees in the US will hopefully turn out in favor of the bees. However, this is a long-term plan, and to make it possible to continue the existence of controlled honeybee colonies in the US, honeybees must still be bred and bountiful, which leads me into the following step.
3) Attempting to understand suffering bee colonies in the US
v Colony Collapse Disorder is a combined affect of several variables, whether they be pesticides, diseases, viruses, mites, diets, etc. To gain an understanding of which variables have greater-than-average involvement with CCD, the next step to the management plan is a monitoring of honeybees in a selected variety of states in the US, and hypothetically the first that should be executed.
· The states that will be subjected to the monitoring programs are as follows: Florida, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, Texas, Wyoming and Arkansas. These states have been chosen given their diversity in climate, environment, human consumption, and distance to the equator.
· In each state, the same experiments will go into effect as follow step by step:
Ø The US Department of Agriculture will be responsible for the monitoring program listed here. The funding will be taken from taxpayers, and the Honeydrop Beverage fundraiser again.
Ø 20 CCD-affected colonies of bees in each state within a wide span of the general area of each state will stop production, and approximately half of the bees from each colony will be neutralized and frozen.
Ø Each subject will be examined first for Varroa Mites, as this examination require no incisions into the body of any bee itself, but instead requires a microscope.
Ø After that, the subjects will be scanned for diseases, viruses, and pesticides, in that order. Then the subjected bees will be examined further implicating their diets.
Ø Records will be taken for each potential variable, and sent to a mutual database in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, where the data will be recorded and results throughout the US dealt with.
· My general hypothesis for the results of the monitoring program is: The data collected from the previously mentioned monitoring program will vary with the altitude and climate for each state the bees reside in.
Colony Collapse Disorder Works Cited
Gerken, James. "Bee Colony Collapse Disorder: New Study Suggests Mass Extinction Not Occurring, Little Actually Known." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/bee-colony-collapse-disorder_n_1505885.html>.
Jacobsen, Rowan. Fruitless Fall: The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008. Print.
"Go to Science." Science Magazine: Sign In. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/318/5848/283.full>.
"BioScience." BioOne. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1641/B580503>.
"Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study." PLOS ONE:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006481>.
"Honeydrop Beverages Fights Bee Colony Collapse Disorder With Tea, Juice: Scientific American." Honeydrop Beverages Fights Bee Colony Collapse Disorder With Tea, Juice: Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=honeydrop-beverages-fights-bee-colo-2011-10>.
"Common Pesticide Implicated Bee Colony Collapse Disorder | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network." Common Pesticide Implicated Bee Colony Collapse Disorder | Observations, Scientific American Blog Network. Katherine Harmon, 6 Apr. 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/04/06/common-pesticide-implicated-bee-colony-collapse-disorder/>.
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