Streams around Gainesville are getting extra attention from a Soil and Water Sciences graduate student. Emily Taylor is interested in how humans and urbanization affect stream ecosystems. She recently placed six sensors in streams to measure dissolved oxygen and temperature. That will allow her to estimate stream metabolism, which is essentially how healthy or productive a stream is.
“Cities change how water moves across the landscape, altering the path of streams, the quantity and quality of the water entering streams, and ultimately the composition of the existing ecosystems,” Taylor explains. “For this project, I will create a long-term data record of water quality across a variety of human impacted streams to capture how urbanization affects stream water quality and metabolism over short and long time scales.”
Dissolved oxygen allows Taylor to indirectly measure the amount of carbon dioxide being created or used in an aquatic ecosystem. During the day, many organisms, such as algae, aquatic plants, and cyanobacteria, undergo photosynthesis which uses carbon dioxide and creates oxygen. Throughout the entire day, every organism in the stream is performing respiration, which uses oxygen to create energy and also releases carbon dioxide. The sensors will show these changes in concentration at five-minute intervals.
The devices will collect data in the streams in six-month increments. Taylor will remove them temporarily to allow for recalibration. She hopes to collect data over 20 years or more.
“In Florida in particular, many of these streams will eventually make their way not only to the ocean and lakes but more importantly, into the Floridan Aquifer. That’s the drinking water source for more than 90 percent of the residents in northeast and east-central Florida,” Taylor says. “When you degrade streams you’re going to degrade downstream waterbodies. That can alter biological communities and hurt ecotourism in the process.”
Taylor is a masters student in the UF/IFAS Sustainable Human and Ecological Development Program. Her faculty advisor is Dr. A.J. Reisinger in the Soil and Water Sciences Department.
Mito karibu na Gainesville inapata uangalifu wa ziada kutoka kwa mwanafunzi wa kuhitimu wa Sayansi ya Udongo na Maji. Emily Taylor anapendezwa na jinsi wanadamu na mijini vinavyoathiri mifumo ya ikolojia ya mito. Hivi majuzi aliweka sensorer sita katika vijito ili kupima oksijeni iliyoyeyuka na halijoto. Hii inasaidia kuamua kiwango cha metabolism ya mto, ambayo ni kiasi gani cha mto ni afya. "Miji hubadilisha jinsi maji yanavyosonga katika mazingira, kubadilisha njia ya vijito, wingi na ubora wa maji yanayoingia vijito, na hatimaye muundo wa mifumo ya ikolojia iliyopo", Taylor anaelezea. "Kwa mradi huu, nitaunda rekodi ya data ya muda mrefu ya ubora wa maji katika aina mbalimbali za mito iliyoathiriwa na binadamu ili kukamata jinsi mijini inavyoathiri ubora wa maji ya mkondo na kimetaboliki katika vipimo vya muda mfupi na mrefu. "" Oksijeni iliyoyeyuka inaruhusu Taylor kupima kwa njia isiyo ya moja kwa moja kiasi cha kaboni dioksidi inayotengenezwa au kutumika katika mazingira ya maji." Wakati wa mchana, viumbe wengi, kama vile mwani, mimea ya majini, na cyanobacteria, hufanya fotosynthesis ambayo hutumia kaboni dioksidi na kutokeza oksijeni. Katika siku nzima, kila kiumbe katika mkondo wa maji hufanya upumuaji, ambao hutumia oksijeni kutengeneza nishati na pia hutoa kaboni dioksidi. Sensorer zitaonyesha mabadiliko hayo ya mkusanyiko kwa vipindi vya dakika tano. Vifaa hivyo vitakusanya data katika mito hiyo kwa vipindi vya miezi sita. Taylor ataondoa yao kwa muda ili kuruhusu kwa ajili ya recalibration. Inatarajiwa kukusanya data kwa zaidi ya miaka 20. Hasa katika Florida, mengi ya mito hii hatimaye itafanya njia yao si tu kwa bahari na maziwa lakini muhimu zaidi, katika Floridan Aquifer. "Hiyo ni chanzo cha maji ya kunywa kwa zaidi ya asilimia 90 ya wakazi katika kaskazini mashariki na mashariki ya kati ya Florida, ""Taylor anasema." <unk>Unapoharibu mito utaharibu maji ya chini ya mto. "Hiyo inaweza kubadilisha jamii za kibiolojia na kuharibu utalii wa ikolojia katika mchakato. ""Taylor ni mwanafunzi wa uzamili katika Programu ya Maendeleo ya Binadamu na Ikolojia ya UFIS." Mshauri wake wa kitivo ni Dakt. A.J. Reisinger katika Idara ya Sayansi ya Udongo na Maji.