Chemical Limiting Factors in a Lake Ecosystem

Ma. Andrea Nicole U. Guarin

De La Salle University-Dasmarinas
Dasmarinas, Cavite Philippines
Abstract
The activities that were conducted during the field trip aims to find the
factors in different types of Ecosystems. Focusing on Lake Ecosystem, weve
conducted different experiments to find its chemical limiting factors in Taal
Lake, Ternate Batangas last February 23, 2015. The objectives of finding the
chemical factors of the lake is to test the following: (1) to determine the
dissolved oxygen in the lake, (2) to measure the N, P, and hardness of the
water in the lake, (3) to determine the salinity, conductivity and total
dissolved solid present in lakes. Chemical factors of the lake were divided
into two which are the soil chemicals and the water chemicals. Soil chemicals
are the pH, nitrogen and phosphorus while the water chemicals are salinity,
TDS, conductivity and primary conductivity. Water samples were taken and
were put in empty mineral bottles to get the lakes water chemical
components. Soil chemicals result were gathered by collecting soil sample
and were put in sieve plates to divide it into the different soil types. The
average of the results that we found are the following: Nitrogen is 6.67,
Phosphorus, 11.67, Salinity is 0.8, pH is 8.10, Dissolved Oxygen is 8.4, Total
Dissolved Solid is 1.06, Hardness (gpg/ppm) is 21.67-425 and Conductivity is
1.732.
Introduction
Chemical factors present are dissolved oxygen, salinity, alkalinity,
hardness, and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Dissolved oxygen
is produced by the phytoplanktons or by diffusion from the atmosphere. Most

of the elements present like N, P, Ca, Mg and others are produced due to
leaching of rocks, erosion, and fertilizers and pesticides wash out. These
elements can be measured by determining the Total Dissolved Solid,
conductivity, hardness and salinity.
The objectives of finding the chemical factors of the lake is to test the
following: (1) to determine the dissolved oxygen in the lake, (2) to measure
the N, P, and hardness of the water in the lake, (3) to determine the salinity,
conductivity and total dissolved solid present in lakes.
The significance of the experiments conducted is to gain information
about the chemical factors present in Taal Lake, Ternate Batangas. Another
significance of the experiment is the results that weve found can be a future
reference to other experiments or research.
Methodology
In gathering the results, soil samples and water samples were taken
from the lake. Sieve plates were used to divide the soil in different soil types
and then later on tested using the soil test kit for its nitrogen and
phosphorus content. Hatch test strips were used to determine the amount of
phosphorus and nitrogen. Salinometer on the other hand was used to
measure the salinity of the water. The TDS meter was used to determine the
amount of total dissolved solids in the lake. The DO meter was used to
measure the amount of dissolved oxygen in the lake.
Using a hach water test strip, a color develops on the strip and the
strip is matched to a chart. The chart shows colors for concentrations of 0,
25, 50, 120, 250, and 425 ppm, or 1, 1.5, 3.7, 15, and 25 gpg. Use hach
water test strips when a general range for hardness is sufficient. Test strips
should not be used when an exact hardness concentration is required.

Results and Discussion

Three samples were collected and the results will be seen on the table below.
Sam
ple

pH

Sali
nity

D
O

15

0.8

10

15

Aver
age

6.
67

11.
67

8.
06
8.
16
8.
07
8.
10

8.
68
8.
44
8.
08
8.
40

0.8
0.8
0.8

Hardn
ess
(apg/p
pm)
25-425
15-425
25-425
21.61425

TD
S

Conduct
ivity

1.0
54
1.0
63
1.0
53
1.0
56

1.700
1.764
1.733
1.732

Table 1. chemical factors

Chemical Factors present in the lake are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, pH,

Salinity,

Dissolved

Oxygen,

Hardness,

Total

Dissolved

Solids

and

Conductivity. Nitrogen and Phosphorus are important nutrients in the lake for
the water plants and animals. Excess nutrients or overabundance can be bad
for the lake ecosystem. The average result that we had for the Nitrogen
content of the lake is 6.67 while the Phosphorus content is 11.67.
The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. The pH
scale ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH less than 7 is acidic. A
pH greater than 7 is basic. The pH of the lakes water was also tested and the
result was 8.10 which means the water in the lake is more than the neutral
stage which makes the water basic.
Salinity is the measure of all the salts dissolved in water. Salinity is
usually measured in parts per thousand (ppt or

). The average ocean

salinity is 35ppt and the average river water salinity is 0.5ppt or less. Salinity
is often measured by measuring how well electricity travels through the

water. In our experiment the average salinity of the lake is 0.8ppt which
means that it is a little bit higher than the average salinity of freshwater.
Hardness is caused by compounds of calcium and magnesium, and by
a variety of other metals. General guidelines for classification of waters are:
0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft;
61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than
180 mg/L as very hard. The measure of hardness in ppm is 425ppm which
means the hardness of the taal lake is very hard.
Dissolved oxygen refers to the level of free, non-compound oxygen
present in water or other liquids. It is an important parameter in assessing
water quality because of its influence on the organisms living within a body
of water. Dissolved oxygen concentrations are constantly affected by
diffusion and aeration, photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition. While
water equilibrates toward 100% air saturation, dissolved oxygen levels will
also fluctuate with temperature, salinity and pressure changes . As such,
dissolved oxygen levels can range from less than 1 mg/L to more than 20
mg/L depending on how all of these factors interact. In freshwater systems
such as lakes, rivers and streams, dissolved oxygen concentrations will vary
by season, location and water depth. The dissolve oxygen in the lake is 8.40
which is a normal level.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) are the total amount of mobile charged
ions, including minerals, salts or metals dissolved in a given volume of water,
expressed in units of mg per unit volume of water (mg/L), also referred to as
parts per million (ppm). TDS is directly related to the purity of water and the
quality of water purification systems and affects everything that consumes,
lives in, or uses water, whether organic or inorganic, whether for better or for
worse. The amount of total dissolved solids measures is 1.056.

Conductivity is a measure of the ability of water to pass an electrical

current. Conductivity in water is affected by the presence of inorganic
dissolved solids such as chloride, nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate anions (ions
that carry a negative charge) or sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, and
aluminum cations (ions that carry a positive charge). The basic unit of
measurement of conductivity is the mho or siemens. Conductivity is measured in micromhos
per centimeter (mhos/cm) or microsiemens per centimeter (s/cm). Distilled water has a
conductivity in the range of 0.5 to 3 mhos/cm. The conductivity of rivers in the United
States generally ranges from 50 to 1500 mhos/cm. Studies of inland fresh waters indicate
that streams supporting good mixed fisheries have a range between 150 and 500 hos/cm.
Conductivity outside this range could indicate that the water is not suitable for certain
species of fish or macroinvertebrates. Industrial waters can range as high as 10,000
mhos/cm. The conductivity measure in taal lake is 1.732 which means the water has low
conductivity.

Conclusion
Unprecedented changes are taking place in the ecosystems of the
world, including species losses through local extinctions, species additions
through biological invasions, and wholesale changes in ecosystems that
follow transformation of wild lands into managed ecosystems. These changes
have a number of important effects on ecosystem processes. Recent
evidence demonstrates that both the magnitude and stability of ecosystem
functioning are likely to be significantly altered by declines in local diversity,
especially when diversity reaches the low levels typical of managed
ecosystems. Although a number of uncertainties remain, the importance of
ecosystem services to human welfare requires that we adopt the prudent
strategy of preserving biodiversity in order to safeguard ecosystem
processes vital to society.
Reference
(1) Activity 8: Chemical Limiting Factors of Lake Ecosystem Handout

(2) Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH
(3) Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document.html?gid=7939
(4) United States Geological Survey.
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/nitrogen.html
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/hardness.html
(5)United States Environmental Protection Agency.
http://omp.gso.uri.edu/ompweb/doee/science/physical/chsal1.htm
http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/vms59.cfm
(6) Fundamentals of Environmental Measurements.
http://www.fondriest.com/environmental-measurements/parameters/waterquality/dissolved-oxygen/#8
(7) 2003. Virtual Chembook. Ophardt, C.
http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/184ph.html
(9)Hach. Application- Water Hardness Guidelines
http://www.hach.com/hardnessguide