Baylor University Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement Small Grants Program
Fiscal Year 2015
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Marty Harvill
Department:Biology
College/School:
College of Arts & Sciences
Project Title: Comparative Study of the Effects of Cultural Eutrophication
on Marine and Freshwater Habitats
Abstract:
Eutrophication is the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances,
such as nitrates or phosphates, to an aquatic system. The acceleration of eutrophication by
human activity is referred to as cultural eutrophication [1, 6, 7]. Cultural eutrophication has
become the primary water quality issue for most of the freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems
in the world. Despite extensive research during the past four to five decades, many key questions
in eutrophication science remain unanswered [8, 11, 13]. One such question is whether
ecosystems remain stable when additional nutrients are added. Varying levels of added nutrients
pose important complexities. Effective management of aquatic resources requires a better
understanding of these complexities and a resolution to the ongoing debates about optimal design
of nutrient loading controls for estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems [2, 3, 4, 5]. We will
investigate the impact of phosphorous on photosynthesizers (aquatic plants or algae) in freshwater
and marine habitats as water moves through these habitats of the Nueces River and Bay area. In
June 2014, water and photosynthesizers samples will be collected from freshwater and marine
habitats. Photosynthesizers will be selected based on their distribution and abundance throughout
the two habitats. These samples will be processed in the Center for Reservoir & Aquatic Systems
Research (C.R.A.S.R.) at Baylor University. Water samples will be processed at University of Texas
Marine Science Institute and at Baylor University using HACH DR/890 Colorimeter. The results
of the analysis will yield insight into the progress of eutrophication across the freshwater and
coastal marine systems.