9th graders study nutrient cycling
Ninth graders have transitioned from a study of biodiversity to nutrient cycling. In quarter 1, students analyzed the biodiversity of real world ecosystems by studying plots of trees in our school’s forest and aquatic macroinvertebrates (small water insects) in the Ottauquechee River.
Students did an amazing job with the collection of macroinvertebrates over a few days and identified the organisms. Their incredible attention to detail and hard work is incredibly valuable because their data is contributing to long-term monitoring of the river. We now have 3 years of macroinvertebrate data and it can help us to analyze the health of the river. If we find macroinvertebrates that are sensitive to pollution then we know that the river is likely to be healthy.
Then students moved on to studying the nitrogen cycle in fish tanks. Students have designed and set up their own microcosms - aquatic ecosystems with plants, small organisms, snails, frogs and fish. They are testing the nitrogen levels daily to see how they change over time. Hopefully they still look this great after 4-6 weeks!
