Transcript Protozoan and the Three Aeration Methods

Protozoan and the
Three Aeration
Methods
Once upon a
time…
There was a protozoan.
He was a normal protozoan. Like the
rest of his family and friends, he spent
his days consuming bacteria, producing
nitrogen, and trying to escape his
predators, especially the big bad
earthworm.
The big bad earthworms were eaten by
larger organisms which the little
protozoan had only heard of. So
although the little protozoan and his
relatives were unaware of this, they
played a very important role in the
environment by being the basis of the
food chain.
O2
O2
O2
Besides bacteria, little protozoan’s favorite
food was oxygen.
His favorite activity was swimming, which
was convenient because that was also his
mode of transportation through the soil.
O2
O2
O2
IAeration
wonder if
is different
aeration holes
methods will
punching
or decrease
in increase
the ground…
the number of
protozoa?
To let in
oxygen and
water!
One day, when swimming through the soil, little
protozoan overheard an interesting
conversation from above ground.
Say
what?the Hollow
Oh!
So
maybe
means
nowTine
thatmethod
you say that, I Yea…orItbigger
ThisWell
Hollow
holes
You’re
right!
The
holes
Tine
plot
will
cause
the
of the in
think that
thechunks
protozoa in thewoulddrying
involves
taking
allow
forare
more
the
Forking
plot
number
of
protozoa
to
soil
hollow
tine
will decrease
out
of the
ground
with a the most,
oxygen,
so
there
would
smaller
because
they
decrease
because
they
swim
the forking,
and the no be an increase are
soilthen
sampler,
so it will
in at
made
with
a
screwdriver
in
water,
and
the
chunks
aerationdry
plotout
willthe
have
probably
plotthe highest
bacteria,
and
therefore
an
angle
so
it
won’t
cause
would
make
thedensity
soil dry
population
ofout
protozoa also in protozoa
a lot.
as much desiccation
This really caught Proty’s attention…so he kept
listening. He found out some interesting facts
Little Proty soon forgot about the
conversation…until…
One day, little protozoan was just going
about his business when he heard his
mother scream, “Get out of the way!”
Little protozoan was scared, so he swam
through the soil as fast as his little
flagella would carry him.
He looked above him, and what he saw
sparked his memory…
Soil
Soil
Soil
Sampler
Sampler
Sampler
!
That area of soil had too much
desiccation and he could feel himself
getting dried up.
He swam away as fast as he could… but
he soon found himself in just as scary
of a situation.
!
Little Proty swam as fast as he could and finally
found peace in an area of No Aeration.
This area was just right…
The mayor soon came and gathered together the
protozoa. He thought it would be best if the
protozoa stay there while he figured out what
was going on…
As it turned out…the holes came back
three times about every three days.
After the seventh day, the holes ceased to
come…
The mayor cut a slice of bacteria pie and
they all celebrated !
So everyone lived
happily ever after…
…right?
What really happened to little Proty…
The mayor called a final town
meeting…and this time he called in the
P.P.I (private protozoa investigators)
They had just come back from their
investigations abroad…in Mr. Brock’s
classroom
Othercan!
than
onisDay
5 (when
Forking
better
Yes! We method
When
it is
it was
There
was
not
for
when
itrainy)is clear
because
The
Hollow
Tine
method
Look!
We
have
made
clear
out,
not
aerating
the
Son,
can
you
tell
us
When it is rainy, aeration
there
is
less
surface
really
enough
difference
better
for
when
it and
ishelps
soil is is
better
for
the
upwhat
this
graph
to try
has
been
on
the
soil
actually
desiccation
and
more
between
the
two
aeration
protozoa
levels
than
raining
because
more
explain
what
has
been or
happening
our
levels
as
ofany
aprotozoa,
water
stays
incan
the
ground
method
of
aerationwater
get
into the
soil
methods
to
that
otherwise
doesn’t
harm
going
on!
cause
ofconclude
this
humans
actually
oneare
was
better than the
them.
“aeration”?
harming us by aerating!
other
Number of Protozoa
Number of Protozoa Per Gram of Soil Per Day
10000000
9000000
8000000
7000000
6000000
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Day of Experiment
Pre-Experimental Data
No Aeration
Forking
Hollow Tine
Pre-Experimental Data
No Aeration
Forking
Hollow Tine
8
The truth behind the story of little
Protozoan… (sources of error)
• We lost some of our data due to misplaced Uhlig
extractors…unless the big bad earthworm took it
– No Aeration, Day 5, Sample 3
– Forking, Day 5, Sample 1
– Forking, Day 7, Sample 1
• Rain!- led to interesting observations
– Filled in our aeration holes- defeated the
purpose of aerating in the first place
• Repetition of Plots
– How do we know that our data was not just
because our plots were in a specific location?
Little Proty wants to know…
• Would repetition of plots have changed our data
in any way?
• If our experiment had gone on longer, would that
have changed our data in any way?
• Testing for…
– Nitrogen levels
– Bacteria levels
?
• How do different levels of moisture increase and
decrease the protozoa levels?
• What other weather conditions would have
affected the protozoa levels?