Jack Somers, Sonia Ullal, Han Kim, Jared Mihalik

Environmental Temperature and Metabolic Rate Lab

Pre-lab Questions: (Sonia Ullal)

1) Since the oxygen levels could have harmful effects on the local ecosystems and

communities, the main causes of thermal pollution which are: water, deforestation, and

soil erosion contribute to the components of the industrial waste.

2) Carassus auratus was chosen to be used in this study because it is another name for the

species of goldfish and they have better tolerance for temperature change. Two other

examples could have been crucian carp and minnows.

3) Thermal Pollution is detrimental to organisms in bodies of water due to the decrease in

dissolved oxygen. Therefore, this will result in an increase in killing of fish as well as

aerobic bacteria will require more oxygen intake.

4) If the temperature increased while the goldfish was breathing through its gills, then the

number of times the gill opens and closes would increase because of the increase in the

metabolic rate as the operculum opens and closes in the beaker.

5) I, Sonia Ullal, will value and protect all life. I will read all the directions, and will avoid

harming this animal, Signature: Sonia Ullal

Prelab (Han Kim)

1. Carbon dioxide will act as a greenhouse gas trapping the suns heat. Sulfur and nitrate

released will cause acid rain. Anaerobic bacteria carried in sewers will decrease DO

levels in bodies of water. Oil spills will cause affected organisms to die.
 2. Goldfish have a higher tolerance to temperature change, so teenagers will be less likely

to kill it. Also, because they are pretty common, they were cheaper to obtain than other

types of fish. Carp and eel could have been used.

3. When water temperature changes, the DO level in the water drops. WHen DO level

drops, fish have a harder time breathing, possibly leading to death. When DO levels

drop, anaerobic bacteria grow, allowing the rot and stink to occur.

4. The goldfish will breathe more per minute when temperature is higher because DO level

will drop. When water is colder, fish will breathe less cause DO levels increase.

5. I, Han Kim, will value and protect all life. I will read all directions and will avoid harming

this animal.

Signature: Kwang Han Kim

Pre-lab (Jack Somers):

1. Industrial practices that cause thermal pollution include dumping waste into water as

well as releasing carbon dioxide or any other dangerous gases into the atmosphere. The

dumping would cause an increase in organic materials which could heat the water and

the gases would be absorbed by the water and heat it up as well.

2. The Carassius Auratus was chosen for this experiment because this fish has a very high

level of tolerance to temperature changes and diseases. Two other similar fish that could

have been used are Carp and Gar.

3. Thermal pollution is dangerous to aquatic organisms because the heat causes the

Dissolved Oxygen levels in the water to decrease and the fish need certain levels of DO

to survive.
 4. There will be less gill beats at lower temperatures and more gill beats at higher

temperatures because there is more DO in cold water so its easier to breathe and the

fish slows its metabolism but in warm water there is less DO making it harder to breathe

and the fish must increase its metabolism.

5. I, Jack Somers, will value and protect all life. I will read all directions, and will avoid

harming this animal.

Signature: Jack Somers

Pre-lab Questions (Jared Mihalik)

1. Agricultural runoff and industrial dumping of toxic waste would cause thermal pollution.

2. Goldfish were used because of their high resistance to temperature changes and

disease. You could also use carp or gar due to them also being very resistant fish.

3. An increase of thermal pollution would decrease the amount of DO in the water. This

lack of DO can cause harm to the fish and create great stress for them.

4. If we increase the temperature of the water with the fish inside, then the fish will have an

increase of gill beats, because there is less dissolved oxygen from the increased

temperature.

5. I, Jared Mihalik, will value and protect all life. I will read all directions, and will avoid

harming this animal.

Data Table:

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

beats/min

Starting Temp: 22 71 beats 66 beats 63 beats 66.66 beats

Temp.-5: 17 32 beats 24 beats 20 beats 25.3 beats

Temp+5: 27 81 beats 84 beats 91 beats 85.3 beats

Analysis of Data:

1.

2. There is a positive correlation between the temperature of the water and the number of

breaths the fishy takes. Because of the DO dissipating due to the temperature rise, the

fish needs to take more breaths to take in the same amount of oxygen. Also, the

temperature may increase the blood flow of the fish causing a need of oxygen similar to

when one is undergoing aerobic exercise.

3. At +5 from the starting temperature, the average Operculum rate was 1.28 times

greater. At -5, the average Operculum rate was 2.63 times less than the beats/min at

the starting temperature. So the higher temperatures beats/min was 3.37 times greater

than the lower temperatures.

85.3/66.66=1.28 66.66/25.3=2.63 85.3/25.3=3.37

4. Based on the previous calculations, the estimated operculum rate at +15 is about

256 beats/minute. Also, the estimated rate at -15 is about 9 beats/minute. Clearly we

can see that temperature changes like these will likely cause great harm to the fish.

(1.28)(3)(66.66)256 beats/min (66.66)/(3x2.63)9 beats/min

5. As the the environmental temperature increases, the metabolic rate of the Carassius

auratus increased from 71 from the starting at beats per minute to 81 due to the

respiration of oxygen the gill cover is receiving. However, the metabolic rate for the

Carassius auratus would decrease because from the starting temperature the goldfish

went from 71 beats per minute to 32.

6. Based off of our findings in the study, as environmental temperature increases the

metabolic rate of the fish increases from 71 beats to 81 beats per minute. Because of

this we can infer, if the environmental temperature is increased the metabolic rate of the

affected species would increase and if the temperature were to decrease then so would

the metabolic rate of the surrounding organisms.

Conclusions:

(Jack Somers): In this lab we tested the effects of thermal pollution on aquatic species and their

health. My original hypothesis was correct in that the decrease in temperature slowed the

operculum rate and the increase in temperature sped up the operculum rate. There were

several possible errors in this lab. While counting the Operculum rate, the fish was often moving

rapidly so there were likely errors in counting the gill beats/minute though with several trial the

general pattern was clear. Other factors include having different fish for the separate trials

which can skew results if the fish have different health characteristics. The only procedural

changes that I would suggest are taking the fish out to heat or cool the water and letting the fish

sit in the altered water and let it get settled a bit so there can be more accurate results. Another

general suggestion is doing the experiment with multiple species of fish to get a better

understanding of how thermal pollution affects all organisms in an aquatic ecosystem.

Throughout the lab we learned that thermal pollution has several adverse effects on aquatic

species. The temperature of the water clearly had an effect on the metabolic rate of the fish; it

increased with temperature increase and decreased with temperature decline. This change in

metabolic rate can be dangerous to fish in longer periods of time and can cause serious health

issues or even death. Overall, this lab was a fun and educational and brought attention to issues

such as thermal pollution in our water and how it affects aquatic ecosystems and organisms.

(Jared Mihalik): The lab had many possible errors that could have occurred. We could have

miscounted the number of beats of the fish or the temperature of the water could have been off.

The lab could have been improved by increasing the number of trials or using the same fish for

both the cold and warm water. The amount of water and the size of the container that the fish

was in could have been constant throughout all experiments, the change in the surroundings of
the fish may cause a different reaction. From the lab we learned how thermal pollution can

have an effect on certain species living in the polluted water and how the lack of dissolved

oxygen increases the metabolic rate of the fish. This lab also reinforced the idea that we need

to help prevent the pollution of our local water sources.

(Han Kim \_()_/ ): The fish would have to get used to the tap water first, which caused the

first variable. Then, the lab tested the effect of temperature change of the water on the fishs

breathing. Depending on whether temperature became colder or hotter, the fishs breathing

slowed or increased. Other factors include fear of humans (which could increase breathing rate)

and the eventual lack of DO in the small cup. Our group also used 2 different fish for the trial,

which could have led to different results (ex: silver fish had high blood pressure). This is

important because it shows that because some species are resistant to temperature change,

they are more likely to remain in one habitat for a long time. However, some species are not like

the goldfish and will die from any small thermal pollution. This lab could improve if we used

more types of fish to see if results for the fish are the same. It would also be more fun if more

extreme temperature change was used, to test how much change a species can handle.

(Sonia Ullal): Throughout this lab, there was an environmental factor which was thermal

pollution that disrupted the respiration and the process of the number of times the operculum

opened and closed. However, based on the analysis and the fact that the metabolic rate

depended on the water temperature, it is clearly evident that the water temperature caused the

metabolic rate to change. There were possible errors which include the fish not remaining calm

long enough to measure its level of oxygen intake. Then an inaccurate measurement would

result which would make the experiment wrong. Since most of the fish came from the same
aquarium, some of them could have had a defect or gotten sick which would impact the

respiration rates. For lab procedure suggestions, we should have tested the effect food

consumption had on Carassius auratus because it would have produced better results due to

the water temperature fluctuating. I would suggest having more group tests with more species of

fish that would represent a better understanding of how environmental factors such as pollution

could potentially have a major impact. I learned that the metabolic rate could have been added

to the experiment by testing the reaction of the fish after each one consumed at the temperature

being tested.