Team:USP-OWLS-PA

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Project

Agricultural runoff from farms find its way into streams and lakes and contains high amounts of nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates. These nutrients are the leading cause of a process known as eutrophication that reduces biodiversity by filling up lakes over time. The extra nutrients promotes rapid growth of algae. Over time, the algae covers the surface of the water, blocking sunlight from getting to the bottom of the lake. This kills many of the plants and animals at the bottom of the lake, causing the lake to fill up with the dead organisms. In the short term, this limits the health and biodiversity of the body of water, and in the long run, a body of water undergoing eutrophication turns into a bog. This problem is especially relevant in Pennsylvania which has 500,000 acres dedicated to agriculture and is bordered by Lake Erie in the Northwest. In order to detect hotspots for large amounts of nutrients, we plan on developing a bioluminescent bacteria that is able to detect the levels of phosphorous in any given water sample. Specifically, orthophosphates will be detected because they are the most common form of phosphorous found in water. The sample would first be heated to convert all polyphosphates into orthophosphates for accurate testing. Once orthophosphates are detected by the bacteria, the bacteria would fluoresce in a certain light spectrum. The luminosity of the bacteria would differ based on the amount of bacteria lighting up, which would be dependent on the concentrations of phosphorous. Control tests will be done on samples with known concentrations of phosphorous in order to find the exact relationship between concentration of phosphorous and brightness of the bacteria. Current methods rely on complex chemical processes, and most testing kits cost hundreds of dollars to purchase and use. Only small amounts of bacteria would be required for the testing, lowering the cost needed for accurate readings. The bacteria could be used as a screening method to acquire data quickly and accurately in order to identify lakes beginning the early stages of eutrophication so that further preventative actions can be taken.

Notebook

Show us how you spent your days.

Results/Conclusions

What did you achieve over the course of your semester?

Safety

What safety precautions did your team take? Did you take a safety training course? Were you supervised at all times in the lab?

Attributions

Who worked on what?

Human Practices

What impact does/will your project have on the public?

Fun!

What was your favorite team snack?? Have a picture of your team mascot?

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