"A student group is interested in studying the biodiversity that exists in the retention pond behind the school's parking lot. T
he students wonder if the conditions are appropriate to support invertebrates and fish in the muddy bottom and water of the pond. In order to plan this study, they need to propose the methodology and required apparatus to their science teacher. Which equipment would be best suited for this study?"
The student wants to find out if there are invertebrates and fish or if the conditions of the pond would support these types of organisms.
<h3>What does the student need to do?</h3>
In this situation, there are two main approaches:
Study invertebrates and fish: This approach implies finding out if there are already invertebrates and fish in the pond, to do this, the student can
Directly observe organisms by using a special camera.
Use a net to catch organisms in the pond and then classify the organisms.
Study the conditions: This approach implies determining if the pond has the conditions for invertebrates and fish to live. To do this, the student will need to measure conditions such as:
Nutrients in the pond.
Temperature.
Ph.
This will require equipment such as pH indicators.
The sum of an organism's observable characteristics is their phenotype. A key difference between phenotype and genotype is that, whilst genotype is inherited from an organism's parents, the phenotype is not. Whilst a phenotype is influenced the genotype, genotype does not equal phenotype
