“Algae+Damn+Bloom”+(INQUIRY+PROJECT)

Joshua Grillo (Partner: Tamia Medina) “Algae Damn Bloom” What is the effect of agriculture on algae bloom? Agriculture is the growth and farming of animals and plants. Since the beginning of time many people have been greedy. In the past, people have used trickery, to increase sells, but now people use science. Due to fertilizers, we can now have larger plants in a shorter amount of time. There is natural fertilizer and manmade fertilizer. The natural fertilizer is mainly cow feces that give many nutrients to the soil. The man made fertilizer quickens the process of growing and makes the plant grow into a larger portion. But, these manmade fertilizers have a negative influence towards the environment. When it rains and erosion comes into view, the rain deposits all of the nutrients from the fertilizers into bodies of water nearby through the water cycle. All these nutrients in this body of water create a large population of algae which is called, algae bloom.
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In this experiment I will be putting a Fresh water plant accelerator fertilizer (picture A; shown below) into a fishbowl filled with fresh water, and in the other fishbowl I will not put fertilizer (same amount of fresh water), and I will be seeing how rapidly and effectively the agriculture effects algae bloom. Towards the end of the experiment, I will be measuring the volume of the algae bloom. The process in which soil is fertilized to grow plants is called soil farming. Soil Farming has recently shown the world its environmental harm. Fresh water resources have become increasingly limited due to soil farming. The algae bloom over the water absorbs a large percentage of the oxygen found in that body of water. The loss of the oxygen in the environment causes fish to die and may cause extinction to certain species. Algae bloom causes great changes to the environment and its inhabitants.

“Sections of China’s coastline are currently being plagued with intense algae blooms. This has been an ongoing problem since 2007, even so far as to interrupt the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. However, the blooms are currently worse than ever, taking up entire coastlines, affecting tourism and the health of the wildlife there.”- []

 “This is not only happening in China but also in the United States, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi Delta comes into the Gulf. The [|Enviromental Protection Agency]  (EPA) cites dozens of examples of so-called “red tides” or “dead zones” caused by algae blooms in U.S. waters, most likely as a result of fertilizer run-off.”- []

-(Picture A) (Mr. Lima’s hand)

-Massive Algae Bloom

__Resources: __ Primary Knowledge and http://www.generalhydroponics.com/blog/2011/08/04/algae-blooms-further-evidence-of-the-harmful-effects-of-soil-farming/ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">__**Hypothesis:**__ If fertilizer that is usually used for agriculture purposes is placed in water then algae bloom should occur in that body of water.