Lake Adley Diatom Count

By: Ellen D. & Brittany M.

Question: If we look at 2 different cores at the same depth would there the same kinds of diatoms.

Procedure: First we will clean off a slide, then take a small sample of core A at 20cm from the top. Then we will mix it with a drop of water and place a slide cover on top. We will then place it under a compound microscope and find as many diatoms as possible. We will then repeat these steps two more times. After recording our data we will take another slide sample, but this time from core B but still at 20Cm from the top. We will then look for more diatoms. Then we will repeat these steps 2 more times. After recording our data we will compare the types of diatoms we found.

Variables:
Variable changed: cores
Variable measured: kinds of diatoms
Controls: Depth, amount of sediment

Data:
Core A
Slide 1: Anomoeoneis, Navicula/Pinnularia, Aulacoseira, Cymbella
Slide 2:Aulacoseira, Cyclotella, Hantzchia/Nitzschia, Surirella
Slide 3:Cyclotella, Navicula/Pinnularia, Aulacoseria

Core B
Slide 1:NONE
Slide 2:NONE
Slide 3:NONE

Conclusion: We conclude that there is a big difference in the 2 different cores. We came to the this conclusion because in the first core we saw many different types of diatoms, but when we looked at the next core we did not find any. We think this is a logical conclusion because there might have been more diatoms in one spot in none in the other