Report Section
Header
Criteria
Possible Pts
Points Earned
Name, Section, Title, Date, Location with coordinates,
Physical Conditions
0,5
0,5
Introductory sentences - describe results and highlight
what is in the table (without interpretation)
2
2
Table 1 with columns for lab data, historical data,
expected standards, and source
3
3
Comparison with historical data and discussion of
differences
2
2
Comparison to standard and discussion
2
2
Journal article discussion and incorporation
2
2
0,5
0,5
Results
Discussion
References
Proper format for journal article and other references
Total 12
points
12
Water Chemistry
We will investigate trends over time in water chemistry at the Conecuh River, just outside of
Troy on the Luverne Road (State Hwy 10/29). Air temperature, water temperature, pH, total
alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen will be measured following the protocols
that are provided with the LaMotte Chemical Co. chemical testing kit that is used by Alabama
Water Watch and compared to historical data.
To help you interpret your results and provide a historical comparison, you should refer to the
Alabama Water Watch website at http://www.alabamawaterwatch.org/get-involved/get-certifiedas-a-water-monitor/. Additional information regarding water chemistry is available from the
EPA Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual, Ch. 5 Water Quality, which can be
found at: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/stream.pdf
Procedure
At your assigned site, make notes describing the site and physical conditions. Record the data on
the Alabama Water Watch data reporting form.
• Air temperature °C – shade from the direct sun.
• Water temperature °C. Place the thermometer into the water and allow it to sit for a few
minutes to equilibrate. Take the reading while the bulb of the thermometer is still in the
water.
• Determine the pH following the instructions in the kit.
• Determine hardness following the instructions from the kit.
• Determine the total alkalinity following the instructions in the kit.
• Determine the turbidity of the water sample following the instructions in the kit. For
purposes of interpreting your results, you should consider the units JTU to be equivalent to
NTU.
• Determine the dissolved oxygen. Two replicate samples need to be collected. Collect
samples by gently inverting the sample bottles under the water. Seal the sample bottles under
water with the caps, making sure that there are no air bubbles in them.
• Perform the titration for each of the replicate samples. If the results are within 0.5 mg/l the
results can be used. If not, the bottles need to be rinsed and the sampling procedure for
dissolved oxygen needs to be repeated.
• Determine percent oxygen saturation using the water temperature and dissolved oxygen
values with the nomogram provided.
Report
Include the usual header information, but there is no species list and you should omit
Introduction and Methods.
Your Results section should include a table showing each property measured, the value recorded
for that property (with units), the historical range (based on historical data for the Conecuh River
at the site where we sampled and the site just north of Troy), and the standard range for a river
with good (or expected) water quality, and the source of that standard (either AWW or EPA).
1
Do NOT include other data, e.g. calculations, from the datasheet in your table. For the historical
data, you will need to use the maps on the AWW website to find Troy and the Conecuh River.
In Discussion, you should interpret your results and compare them with the historical and
expected values for each property. Speculate as to why you see the differences (or similarities)
that you observed? What are the limitations or caveats to your data? You should also include a
brief discussion of a published study from a scientific journal that investigated water chemistry
in natural surface waters. Incorporate the findings of this study into your narrative and draw
comparisons.
Your Reference section should include Alabama Water Watch and U.S. EPA, as well as other
cited sources of information. Remember to use Council of Science Editors (CSE) Name-Year
citation style. If you did not cite something in the text, it should not appear in the References
section.
2
General features of lab reports: Labs must be typed; use a standard 12-point font (Times New
Roman, Arial, etc.) for the text of the report. Labs must be written in complete sentences, with
correct spelling and punctuation. Lab reports are due prior to the beginning of lab class of the
specified due date.
You will lose one point per day for labs turned in late; no lab report will be accepted more
than three days late. An unexcused absence on the day of lab will also result in a deduction of
one point (even if the report is turned in on time).
Lab reports must be written in your own words. Do not copy from other members of your
group, from the internet, or from other sources. Do not copy and paste from the lab
handouts into your write-up. Do not use direct quotes; the information must be in your own
words.
Numbering the pages: Number each of the pages at the bottom. Don’t use a cover page.
Terminology and other notes on grammar, calculations etc:
Tenses for different sections of the report – The introduction should use past tense when
referring to previous studies and future tense when referring to what will be presented in the
report. The methods section should be in past tense. The results and discussion sections are
generally in past tense, except when referring to information presented further along in the
report, areas for future study, etc.
Spacing – Double space the text throughout the report. Text in tables and figures, as well as
references, may be single spaced.
Numbers – A zero must always be put before a decimal point if there is not another number
before it, e.g. 0.45 not .45. Do not use more than two decimal places.
In the text, numbers less than 10 are written out in letters, e.g., three not 3. However, numbers
associated with a unit of measurement are always written as Arabic numerals, e.g., 1 m2, not one
m2 .
Calculations – When reporting calculated values, show your work!
You must retain the computer files of your work for this course until the semester is over
and you have received the final grade for the class.
Format for General Ecology Lab Reports (unless otherwise specified)
Name:
Lab Section:
1
Title of Lab:
Date of Lab:
Location of the lab: Briefly describe the site and location, i.e., the lab was performed in the
wooded area of the Troy University Arboretum. Include the latitude and longitude (available
from Google Maps) reported in decimal degrees, e.g. 31.784°N, 85.975°W.
Physical conditions: Describe the weather during the lab, e.g., sunny and 30 °C.
Species studied: Give the common and scientific names of all species observed in the lab. The
scientific names of species must be accompanied by the authority (the last name of the person
who named the species or an abbreviation). The primary source for plant scientific names and
authorities is the Alabama Plant Atlas. Put the information in the following format:
Common Name
Tuberous Vervain
Southern Crabgrass
Scientific Name
Verbena rigida
Digitaria ciliaris
Authority
Spreng.
(Retzius) Koeler
The genus is always capitalized, and the species is not. Scientific names should be italicized. The
authority is not italicized.
Introduction: The introduction defines the general purpose of the lab and introduces specific
terminology and concepts related to the lab.
Methods: The Methods section describes the step-by-step procedure that was used in the field.
Include all equipment that was used in the performance of the lab exercise. Do not write
instructions. Typically, you should cite the lab handout as your source of information.
Results: This section contains tables and/or figures. You should have an introductory sentence
or two that refers to the tables and/or figures. Pictures, maps, graphs, and diagrams are all
figures. You need to have “stand alone” titles for figures and tables. For example:
Figure 1. Species-area curve for herbaceous plant species collected at Troy Arboretum.
Figure 2. Logarithmic plot of species-area relationship for herbaceous plant species
collected at Troy Arboretum.
Tables and figures should be numbered in increasing Arabic numerals, e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, in the
order that they are first cited in the text. The word table or figure is always capitalized in the text
when referring to a specific table or figure, e.g., Table 1, Figure 1.
Discussion: This section should summarize the main findings of the experiment. Do not repeat
the results in paragraph form. Explain how the findings of your work compare with the
expectations of the study.
2
Unless otherwise instructed, your discussion should include an outside reference from a
published scientific peer-reviewed journal study that was conducted on the topic and used a
similar method for collecting data. The publication date of the study should be within the last 10
years. Print out the first page of the article and attach to the end of the report for verification of
your source.
References: All references cited should be put into the References section. Wikipedia, blogs,
and other similar sources are not acceptable.
References are listed in alphabetic order of the first author’s last name. Examples of proper
reference listings are shown below:
Gotelli, N.J. and L.G. Abele. 1982. Statistical distributions of West Indian land-bird families.
Journal of Biogeography 9: 421-435.
•
This should be cited as (Gotelli and Abele 1982) in the text.
Keener, B. R., A.R. Diamond, L. J. Davenport, P. G. Davison, S. L. Ginzbarg, C. J. Hansen, C.
S. Major, D. D. Spaulding, J. K. Triplett, and M. Woods. 2017. Alabama Plant Atlas.
University of West Alabama, Livingston, Alabama.
•
This should be cited in the text as (Keener et al. 2017)
Smith, T.M. and R.L. Smith. 2015. Elements of Ecology. 9th ed. Pearson Education.
•
This should be cited as (Smith and Smith 2015) in the text.
Troy University, Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences. 2017. Title of lab. General
Ecology Lab Handout 1 {or relevant number}.
•
This should be cited as (Troy University 2017) in the text.
3
TABF 1.
G Corent
Property Reading Coton
Anna
Historical Expected Good Source
Range
CE
be
Air To
P
ALABAMA WATER WATCH
WATER CHEMISTRY MONITORING DATA FORM
Men Who stare At Wood
Group Name:
Collector(s):
online
City: Troy
Sample Date: Det: 3, 2017
Address:
State: AL Zip:
Phone Nº:
Sample Time:_4.90 AWW Site Code:
Waterbody: Connecuh Biner
County & State:
Watershed:
Sampling site location:
(Notify the Aww office about any changes in sampling site location.)
Waterbody condition:
Adequate Depth
Jinadequate Depth
Tidally influenced rivers:
Dry
No Access
Rising Tide
Falling Tide
Variable
Value
Uncertain No Applicable
Comments
Air Temperature
182°F
27.8 °C
Measure air temperature before water temperature.
Water Temperature
23
°C
Avoid touching thermometer bulb.
рн
6.5
Standard international units
Record to nearest 0.5 unit.
Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
Rep 1: 6.0,
ppm Rep 2:5.6 ppm
Make sure two readings are within 0.6 ppm.
Specific Gravity / Salinity
S. G.
Salinity:
If salinity is present do not test for hardness.
ppt
% Oxygen Saturation
5.8 Avg DO 72
% DO Sat
Estimate from chart found in the AWW manual.
Total Alkalinity 18
#drops x 5 = 90 mg/L
Add drops until no more color change.
Record number of drops that produced final change.
Total Hardness
6
#drops x 10 = 60
mg/L
2_#0.5 mL x 5 (50mL) = 10
Use bottom line only if sample volume used was 25 mL.
JTU
Turbidity
Enter zero (0) mL and 2 JTU if one addition of reagent
2 # 0.5 mL x 10 (25mL) 20 JTU
surpassed the turbidity of the sample.
Secchi Depth
meters
Do not record depth if disk hits bottom while visible.
iments: Note evidence of rainfall, runoff within previous 24 hours, unusual
AWW Office Use
ell, unusual color, cows or other animals in creek, etc.
60 MMHOS
YSI
Other Chemistry Tests
YSI Meter data, Nitrates, Phosphate, etc.
(conductivity
I hereby declare that at the time of this water sampling my AWW Water Chemistry Certification was current and that
confirmed the freshness of each reagent used for these tests. All data entered above the Comments section were obtaine
using AWW techniques.
Check for electronic signature.
Monitor signature
Toll Free: 1-888-844-4785
Alabama
Water
Watch
Alabama Water Watch
559 Devall Dr.
Auburn University, AL 36849-5124
Email: awwprog@auburn.edu
Website: www.alabamawaterwatch.
2013
Purchase answer to see full
attachment