WAESO Spring 2020

By -
Abstract: Arizona: Lakes, Ponds, and Canals potential impacts of chemical exposures on aquatic bird species 
Surface water in metro-Phoenix is contaminated due to urban pollutants, impacts from water reuse, soils, and other human interactions. Harmful contaminant levels, in addition to Nitrate-N, Phosphate- P, temperature, and dissolved O2 may possibly have negative consequences on resident and visiting bird species’ populations. Therefore, we conducted a two-year study of bird use of urban aquatic resources across the metro-Phoenix area, which has raised concerns about the transfer of chemical contaminants from surface water to bird species. The pattern that we see in bird populations in urban aquatic resources appears to be seasonal, with some study sites showing a year-round pattern of use. For highly-used aquatic sites in particular, we report concentrations of water contaminants that may be impacting aquatic bird species. Given that Phoenix is part of the Urban Bird Treaty program, it is important to document the potential impacts of urban contaminants on resident and visiting bird species in order to sustain urban bird populations and improve conservation outcomes.

Image result for waeso logo

Comments

  1. Maxx MuddFebruary 1, 2020 at 8:22 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amanda MorrisonFebruary 23, 2020 at 8:12 PM

    This is such a great project! Have you been working on it the entire two years? I'm getting ready to transfer, and I really enjoy research, so I'm hoping to join a project. I remember joining my first project was a little daunting because I had to go through all the background research and data that had already been collected. I'd love to hear more about the difference between the working environment before and after you transferred. I'm starting to feel a little nervous about going to a school with what I imagine are so many more moving parts. I hope that I can find a project as interesting as yours.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post Week 12

By -
Image
This week in Lab the only plastic I am waiting to weigh is SPI6. The reason this one is taking longer is because when I rinsed it with DI water it soaked some of the water up which meant I had to leave it in longer to dry out than the other plastics. Then when it was completely done drying I put the hydrogen peroxide to get rid of any nature products that could have been left behind. Right now they are still drying, until they are completely dry is when I will then be weighing it and that will conclude my last sample for weighing. After that I will finally have all data to analyze. I will be determining which extraction method/ water solution works best on microplastics. I will also be determining plastic loss in all three different solutions and see if there was a was to better change the protocol that the NOAA developed for extraction of microplastics from sediments.
Read more

Blog Post Week 4

By -
Image
So the picture above shows the location of where I got the sample water though, though I regret not getting the coordinates of the exact location I took the water sample from because Tempe Town Lake is pretty big. This weekend while also this weekend I went to Tempe Town Lake again but the only difference was that there were a lot of dead fish just floating around and some even on shore. Which got me thinking if we might something new in the microplastic bacteria growth. There was also a report during 2014 where there was an extreme growth of E. Coli in Tempe Town Lake Water. “ Tempe has received water samples from Town Lake taken Thursday morning that show E. coli bacteria more than 10 times higher than the state's allowable” (Tempe Town Lake 'unsafe' water sample threatens race). I missed another great opportunity and forgot to take pictures of the dead fish. So perhaps maybe this week I will go again and take pictures.
Read more

"Oh The Places You'll Go" . . .

By -
Image
“It's not what you achieve, it's what you overcome. That's what defines your career." —Carlton Fisk Growing up in a strict Hispanic Household my siblings and I were always told that we needed to become doctors when we grew up. That if we were doctors we would have a stable bright future. So of course in High School I would tell everyone that I would grow up to be a Doctor. I didn’t know what kind of doctor, I just knew I was going to be a doctor. Once I graduated High School and enrolled at Phoenix College, I told my advisor, “I want to be on the path that will make me a doctor”. So for 2 years I was taking all my pre-requisites to be a doctor. It wasn’t until my second year at Phoenix College and almost close to graduation that I wanted to be an ophthalmologist. So I looked online and started studying for my Optometry Entrance Exam (OAT). During that Summer 2019 of pure studying I also worked with Dr. Polidoro in her environmental/ Toxicology ...
Read more