Parlati, Sophia, Environmental Science and Studies Department, Juniata College, 163 Hooverdale Acres, Martinsburg, PA 16662-8303, sophiaparlati@icloud.com.
Phytoplankton are crucial organisms of aquatic ecosystems. They are primary producers and form the foundation of aquatic food webs. They produce oxygen through photosynthesis and support a wide range of heterotrophic marine and freshwater organisms. With this project, I expect phytoplankton assemblages will differ between areas of Raystown Lake that are either eutrophic or oligotrophic. The purpose of this research is to document and quantify those differences. If this difference is strong, then I hypothesize that there will be particular phytoplankton taxa within the assemblage that, if present in a water sample, will indicate or be diagnostic of eutrophic or oligotrophic conditions. Understanding the relationship between phytoplankton and trophic status in Raystown Lake will aid tracking and understanding changes in nutrient status and water quality, and therefore will provide an ecological tool for water quality management. By assessing phosphorus and isotope (c:n) ratios in raystown lake, I can use phytoplankton groups to categorize these water quality parameters and estimate the trophic status’s in Raystown Lake.
Phytoplankton, Trophic Status, Isotope Analysis, Phosphorus