Note: There are four parts to this questions. 1. Based on the abiotic data above

Question

Note: There are four parts to this questions.

1. Based on the abiotic data above, form your own hypothesis about the microorganisms diversity of these two samples:

The following data is then collected from these two locations:

2. Based on the data above, is your hypothesis supported or refuted? Or both? Explain how.

3. Based again on the data, please explain what effects you think the abiotic factors are having on the aqutic biotic community.

4. What other abiotic factors do you think could play a role in the differences observed between the 134 and JPL samples?

Explanation / Answer

Ans 1. Based on the abiotic data above, my hypothesis is that the microbial diversity would be more in the sample obtained from 134 Freeway than the sample obtained from JPL because 134 Freeway sample has high proportion of Nitrate which may be due to nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria and can also act as food substrate which is reduced by microbes like Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Nitrate to Nitrogen), E.coli (Nitrate to nitrite) and also availabilty of Phosphate would help flourish Phosphate- solubilizing Microorganisms (PSM) like Pseudomonas, Bacillus etc.

Ans 2. Based on the data above, my hypothesis is both supported and refuted because if we look at the data which clearly states that the number of observations of a cyanobacteria on iNaturalist in 134 freeway sample is 4 times higher than that of JPL due to its nitrogen fixation capacity and which formed the base of my hypothesis but if we look at the observations of other microorganisms like Ciliates (Protozoans) and diatoms which are unicellular, JPL sample has more oservations than 134, hence more microbial diversity in JPL sample than 134 which is refuting my claim regarding microorganisms diversity. One of the possible reasons could be the high proportion of Zinc in JPL than 134 which may be utilized by these microbes for energy production by chemosynthesis. Other reasons behind these observations can be attributed to other abiotic factors besides these inorganic compounds.

Ans 3. The abiotic factors like inorganic nutrients composition will determine the mode of nutrition of the aquatic biotic community whether they will prefer heterotrophic mode or autotrophic mode. This in turn will determine the diversity and the population of species occupying higher position in the food chain operating in an aquatic system. Also, nutrients composition would also determine the salinity and pH of the aquatic system which would allow specific species to proliferate their population while restricting others.

Ans 4. Abiotic factors like temperature, water flow, moisture content, light level, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, Depth could play a role in the differences observed between the 134 and JPL samples because abiotic factors like pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Temperature affects the metabolic rate of organisms thriving there besides the specificity of nutrients available. Water flow and salinity will determine the tolerance of the organisms to colonize and thrive. Light level and depth would determine the percentage of light available or accessed by the organisms for photosynthesis.

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