User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I have visited Quarry Creek a few times this past winter to collect water samples for water quality analysis. Based on my visits to the site I was able to collect additional data on the streams physical characteristics and water quality parameters. My study is based on ecological assessment of selenium in the aquatic environment. Quarry Creek flows north of Red Chris Mine Project along the valley bottom and into Klappan River, eventually making its way to the Stikine River.
My objective is trying to identify whether or not the proposed effluent will result in adverse effects to the receiving environment. The following is a summary of Quarry Creek stream characteristics and water quality parameters collected during my visits. Selenium has become a contaminant of concern (COPC) in mining; therefore, understanding the toxicology of selenium will benefit me in many ways as an environmental technician.
Date: March 14, 2017
Weather: 6.0 ◦ C Overcast
Location: W69 monitoring site
Quarry Creek Stream Characteristics:
UTM Coordinates – 9V 0457207 E 6401942 N
Channel Gradient – 4%
Elevation – 1027 m ASL
Channel Bankfull Width – 2.1 to 2.6 m
Quarry Creek Length – 1 km
Primary Substrate – gravel/cobble embedded in sand and gravel
Riparian – Shrubs, mixed mature forest (Dominant species spruce, following subalpine fir and birch)
Cover – Abundant (creek is enclosed by a canopy of trees)
Wetland – Consists of a series of pools formed by beaver dams and extends along approximately 2 km of the Quarry Creek mainstream. Within the wetland section of Quarry Creek, macrophytes ( grasses) are plentiful and substrate is predominantly fine sediment and organic matter.
Quarry Creek Water Quality Parameters:
Temperature – 0.9 ◦ C
pH – 8.06
DO – 12.03 mg/L
Conductivity – 548
Turbidity – 1.27 (clear)
Hypothesis:
(1) I hypothesize there is a correlation between aqueous selenium concentrations and benthic invertebrate tissue concentrations due to bioaccumulation.
(2) I hypothesize there is a correlation between aqueous selenium concentrations and periphyton tissue concentrations due to bioaccumulation.
Predictor Variable:
Selenium aqueous water concentrations
Response Variable:
Selenium bioaccumulation in benthic invertebrate and periphyton tissue
Photos:
hello! some good work here on an ambitious project
be sure to express your variables as things that are measurable
e.g. if my response variable was birds present at a feeder, say, I would write: “mean daily density of bird species x ” etc rather than just “birds at feeder”
the variables then are what you build your methods around – easier to see and more continuity if the variables are expressed as some things that can be measured, as the methods will then describe how they are measured
Hey!
Interesting question! It appears to be a significant consideration given the potential adverse effects. The hypotheses are falsifiable because the correlations will either be significant or not. However, is it possible to hypothesize or state what size of correlation would be biologically significant beyond just statistically significant? At times, correlations in the low teens are very significant; however, the question remains, how much does this matter? If I can give you a quick example in medicine, it was found that women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) were 1.01 times as likely to develop depression compared to women who do not have PCOS. They were at a statistically significant increased odds of developing depression; however, clinically, there is no difference. What might the strength of your correlations indicate for mining and conservation? This is certainly something you could address in your discussion.
Would anything like run-off, rain precipitation, or water flow speed affect Selenium concentration? If the Selenium passes through the system quickly versus slowly, or the concentration is very low to begin with, due to volume of water, this may affect Selenium present and likely the amount found in benthic tissues.
Thanks for the post!
Andrew