Biology 3800 – Aquatic Ecosystems Lab

Tuesday 13:40-16:20 E640Friday 13:00-15:50 E640

Kathryn Kuchapski, MSc CandidateEmail: k.kuchapski at uleth.caOffice: WE 1052, Lab: WE 1084Office Phone: 317-5046Office Hours: By appointment

Labs

• There will be 5 assignments each worth 8%, meaning the labs will count for 40% of your final grade.

• You will be given 1-2 lab periods to complete each assignment and they will be due at the beginning of lab in the week following the final period allotted to the assignment.

• Part or all of each assignment will be introduced during the lab period and you will be given time to work through the exercises. If you wish to work ahead you must be willing to do so without in-class guidance.

Tips for handing in assignments:• Units/Graph Labels – Units are a fundamental component of most

answers and if they are not included the answer is not considered correct. The axes on graphs are also important and should be properly labelled (including units!).

• Show your work – If a question in an assignment requires calculations include formulas and how they were derived.

• Computer – Work done on the computer (written portion of assignments, graphs/tables/figures, etc.) results in a final product that is much clearer and easier to grade than hand-written work.

• Plagiarism – Working together during and outside of lab is permitted but each student must hand in THEIR OWN assignment. Copying someone else’s work is an academic offense and will not be tolerated.

Formats Accepted

• Type out formulas, equations and answers• Printed Excel spreadsheets with formulas used

in the row below the column title

1) Watershed Mapping

• Make sure to look at direction of stream flows• Take note of contour lines

2) Bathymetry

2) Area Under the Curve• Calculate it• Use Adobe

Pro

y = 2.949E-11x6 - 1.268E-08x5 + 2.262E-06x4 - 2.091E-04x3

+ 9.835E-03x2 - 1.413E-01x + 6.549E-01R2 = 1.000E+00

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Area = base * average height

http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme/ExcelTips/AreaUnderCurve.htm

3) Filling of the reservoir

• Adding areas together will give you volume at different dates

y = 2.949E-11x6 - 1.268E-08x5 + 2.262E-06x4 - 2.091E-04x3

+ 9.835E-03x2 - 1.413E-01x + 6.549E-01R2 = 1.000E+00

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Area = base * average height

http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme/ExcelTips/AreaUnderCurve.htm

4) Residence Time

• Measures the time that an average molecule of water spends within the reservoir

• The more water there is in the reservoir, the more time each molecule will spend there

• The faster the flow from the reservoir, the less time each molecule will spend there

5) Reservoir Communities

• Length of life cycles• Competition, predation• Mobility of organisms• Abiotic factors