San Anselmo Creek Water Quality Testing
The students mind's develop into those of scientists as they venture to the local, San Anselmo Creek. The students conduct water quality monitoring to determine the health of the San Anselmo Creek. With LaMott test kits nine different water quality tests are performed: phosphates, nitrates, pH, turbidity, iron, calcium, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand and the calculation of the total suspended solids. In coordination with this project we also analyzed the taxonomy of macroorganisms in the creek. We took samples from the bottom of the creek, dried the samples and examined them for microorganisms under the microscopes. After we determined their scientific name and the taxonomy number we evaluated the organisms' habitat requirements, tolerance and niche. From this information, we can develop inferences about the health and stability of the creek.
Testing on San Anselmo Creek
The results we gather from the San Anselmo Creek are compared to the samples we take from the creek's primary tributary, located in the Cascades of Fairfax. Eventually, the creek flows out the mouth of the Corte Madera to the San Francisco Bay. After all the data is collected, everyone writes an in-depth report, using the data, to make a hypothesis on why the Steelhead Trout population has declined.
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