Discussion

Meem Arzani, Teresa Brostow, Kevin

Cameron, Brianna Patnaude, Sara Sarcona,
and Leah Starnes
Determination of the Ideal Location and Leaf As seen in Table 2, the outflow only had a total of two more
invertebrates than in the bog. The numbers were very close and
MATES
16 June 2017
Type to Acquire Macroinvertebrates although it can be assumed that both the bog and the outflow are
inhabited by an equal number of invertebrates, there is a difference
in specific species. In both Figures 3 and 4, some species are only
present in one location and not the other. For example, the
caddisfly (Trichoptera) was found only in the outflow leaves. The
dragonfly (Odonata) and the water penny (Coleoptera) were only
Abstract Results found in the bog leaves. It is known that the dragonfly and the
beetles, of order Coleoptera, are lentic macroinvertebrates which
Macroinvertebrates are a crucial aspect to monitor when
determining the health of a water body. Macroinvertebrates A total of 316 invertebrates were collected in this study; 157 in the bog would explain why they were found in the bog, which was the lentic
are biological indicators that are used to ascertain the water
quality, diversity, and abundance of a body of water. Leaf
Objective and 159 in the outflow. A total of seventeen species were identified.
Within the outflow, 49 (30.8%) of the invertebrates were found in the oak
environment of this experiment (Dijkstra et al. 2017). Moreover,
lotic environments are considered more “geologically stable”, so
packs are commonly utilized to collect the macroinvertebrate To determine the flow rate and leaf species that has the most positive effect on leaves and 110 (69.2%) were found in the maple leaves. Within the bog, lotic invertebrates such as the sowbug (Isopoda), the leech
species of an environment. In this study, eight leaf packs macroinvertebrate diversity. 70 (44.6%) of the invertebrates were found in oak leaves and 87 (55.4%) (Hirudinea), the flatworm (Platyhelminthes), and the blackfly
were made on May 19, 2017. Two leaf packs containing red were found in maple leaves (Table 2). Overall, the maple leaf packs had (Diptera) are not very dispersive and would be found mainly in
maple leaves (Acer rubrum) and two leaf packs containing 78 more macroinvertebrates than the oak packs. The highest dominance running water (Dijkstra et al. 2017).
oak leaves (Quercus) were placed in Stafford Forge bog. This value (I) of 0.26795 was determined for the oak outflow leaf packs, and
methodology was replicated at the outflow at Stafford Forge Looking at Figures 1 and 2, some invertebrates were found in
the lowest value of 0.06857 was determined for the maple outflow leaf
as well. The leaf packs were retrieved and brought to the one leaf type but not the other. For example, the water mite and the
Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science packs. (Table 1). The highest diversity value of 0.93143 was found for the
backswimmer water flea were found only in maple whereas the
maple outflow pack, and the lowest value of 0.73205 was calculated for
for analysis on June 6, 2017. Data regarding diversity and
abundance of the macroinvertebrate species collected from Methods the oak outflow pack. For maple leaves, including the outflow and bog
stonefly (Plecoptera) was only found in the oak leaves. The blood
midge was more prominent in the oak packs than the maple packs,
the leaf packs were recorded. The leaf packs were analyzed •Collect red maple (Acer rubrum) and oak (Magnoliopsida) leaf litter at packs, there was an average diversity of 0.8701. The oak leaves had an
and the aquatic worm was more prominent in maple than oak.
using Simpson’s Diversity Index to determine the habitat and Stafford Forge and Outflow (Westecunk Creek). average diversity of 0.7679.
leaf type that would produce the highest diversity. The red Aquatic worms eat decomposing plant matter, and red maple leaves
•Create four maple leaf packs for each species of leaf (Eight packs in total). Comparing bog packs versus outflow packs with exclusively oak leaves decompose at a faster rate than oak leaves do in water (Mehring et
maple leaf pack in the outflow had the highest diversity and
had the P-Value of 0.5713. Bog versus outflow with exclusively maple al. 2017). This may be the reason why more aquatic worms were
oak leaf pack in the outflow was the lowest; however, a t-test •Weigh each mesh leaf pack to ensure that each one weighs 30 grams.
comparing the red maple and oak leaf packs was ran and in leaves had a P-value of 0.7811. Maple versus oak in the outflow had a P- found in the maple packs. Overall, the maple packs had a better
•Tie one oak leaf pack and one maple leaf pack to one brick. Repeat this Value of 0.4451. Maple versus oak in the bog had a P-value of 0.7004.
return resulted in a t-value of 0.4451, indicating that the process three more times. diversity using Simpson’s Diversity index. However, when T-test
results were not significant. Therefore, the variables of leaf Because all the P-Values are over 0.05, the results are not significant. values were calculated, each P-value comparing maple and oak
type and location cannot be statistically attributed to •Place two bricks, or four leaf packs, in the outflow and two bricks in the bog
packs and bog and outflow were over 0.05, indicating that the
macroinvertebrate diversity. and tie each brick off to a tree. There will be two of each type of leaf pack in
Table 2: Total number of macroinvertebrates that were collected throughout the duration of this results are not significant.
each location. project.
•After three weeks have passed, collect the leaf packs. Outflow
•Open the leaf packs and examine their contents. Analyze which
Conclusion
Insect: Outflow (Oak) (Maple) Bog (Oak) Bog (Maple)
macroinvertebrates are ensnared within the packs. Document the number of Damselfly 2 3 21 22
Mayfly 1 1 6 4
each species that are found within each pack. The study was conducted to establish the correlation between
Scud 2 1 5 6
•Utilize the data to calculate the Simpson’s Diversity Index for each pack. Backswimmer Waterflea 0 1 0 1 location and leaf species to ultimately determine the ideal
•Calculate T-tests and p-values. Dragonfly 0 0 1 1 conditions for collecting a diverse range of macroinvertebrates.
Diving Beetle 0 0 10 20
•Analyze all of the data and document the results. Water Penny 0 0 0 1
Although more macroinvertebrates were collected from the red
Aquatic Worm 24 75 20 23 maple leaf packs in the outflow than Stafford Forge bog, the
Aquatic Sowbug 2 7 0 0 hypothesis that the red maple leaf packs in the outflow would have
Flatworm 1 1 0 0 the greatest abundance and diversity cannot be supported. From
Table 1: The Simpson’s Diversity Index values for the leaf packs that were utilized throughout this Blood Midge 4 2 2 1 calculating P-values, no statistically significant correlation was
experiment. Leech 6 0 1 7
Figure 1: An aerial view of the Stafford Forge bog and outflow. Caddisfly 6 15 0 0
found between the diversities in each of the locations. In future
Outflow Outflow Blackfly Larvae 1 4 0 0 studies, it would be recommended to have a larger sample size of
(Oak) (Maple) Bog (Oak) Bog (Maple) Creeping Water Bugs 0 0 3 0 both maple and oak leaf packs and record water parameters
Introduction Simpsons Dominance
(I) 0.26795 0.06857 0.19621 0.1913
Water Mite
Stonefly
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
periodically throughout the study to further analyze the results.
Leaf packs are utilized by scientists who aim to collect a wide Simpson's Diversity
Total: 49 110 70 87

variety of aquatic species in order to gather information in regards
to the quality of a specific lotic system. Typically, natural leaf
packs form in lotic systems when various types of leaves cluster
together and sink to the bottom of the body of water due to force
of the flowing water (“Linking Trees to Streams,” 2017). Once the
leaf pack has sunk to the bottom of the system, insects then gather
within them and utilize the leaf packs for food and shelter. Leaf
packs can be analyzed using the Simpson’s diversity index.
Red Maple trees (Acer rubrum) are abundant in the state of
New Jersey and often inhabit regions that are adjacent to bodies of
water. A wide variety of macroinvertebrates utilize these leaves for
shelter and protection before and while these trees’ leaves enter
the water. Red maple leaves typically decompose very quickly;
therefore there will be significantly smaller particles within the
leaf packs after three weeks have passed by (Mehring et al.). Fly
and mosquito larvae consume small bits of organic matter and will
flock to the leaf packs in order to eat. Along with that, due to the
fact that oxygen is released into the system when Acer rubrum
decomposes, several organisms will flock to the location of the leaf
pack due to the fact that there is better-quality water within that
region.
This experiment was conducted to determine the habitat and
food preference among various species in Stafford Forge Bog and
Outflow, using experimental variables such as habitat and leaf
type. The red maple leaf packs in the outflow location are expected
to have the greatest amount and diversity of macroinvertebrates
because there is flowing water and more vegetation in comparison
to the bog. Running water is known to contain more dissolved
oxygen (Perlman, 2017), so it is expected that invertebrates would
prefer to be in running water and there would be greater diversity.
Acknowledgements
(1-I) 0.73205 0.93143 0.80379 0.8087
We would like to thank Mr. Werner for providing us with this
incredible opportunity to conduct this research project. His
instruction and guidance helped us to succeed in acquiring the best
possible results. Also, thank you to the Ocean County School Board
for approving this project and for permitting us to visit Stafford
Forge in order to gather our data.
References
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Figure 2: The total number of different species that were found in the leaf packs that were placed in the Figure 3: The amount of species found in the oak leaf packs that were placed in the outflow and Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B., Michael T. Monaghan, and Steffen U. Pauls.
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