Swimming patterns of daphnia magna

• Main Author: Vannessa, Tung
• Other Authors: Tuan Tran
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176533
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Daphnia, also known as water fleas, are small sized crustaceans that live in different water ecosystems globally, often in lakes and ponds. They are important links in marine food webs because they appear at the bottom of the aquatic food chains as the prey for a multitude of fishes and invertebrates. Daphnids are known to have rapid reproductive capabilities, and are highly selective of their living environment, hence they are commonly used in ecotoxicology and aquatic toxicology experiments. The reactions of different species to diverse kinds of stressors, including pollutants, changes in temperature and pH levels in the waters, allow scientists to gain a better understanding of how contaminants affect aquatic ecosystems. This demonstrates the ecological significance of Daphnia and their research applications as indicators of environmental health, serving as the foundation for advancing knowledge across various fields of study. Research studies on the mortality rates of Daphnia within the scientific community focus on investigating which chemicals or contaminants affect their life expectancies over a target period. However, our study takes a distinct approach by emphasizing qualitative criteria. The objective of this study is to investigate how environmental conditions, various types of feed, short-term exposure to fertilizers influence the swimming behaviour of Daphnia. Unlike studies that primarily examine long-term mortality rates or the broader effects on Daphnia Magna, this research focuses specifically on swimming activity. It provides insights into the dynamic interactions between organisms and their surroundings, offering a unique perspective on their relationship. As a control, a standard Seachem Equilibrium salt solution will be used in this experimental set up with a concentration of 500 ppm. It will be used as a reference point for a swimming behaviour of Daphnia Magna. The objective is to investigate the response of Daphnia Magna to varying concentrations of fertilizers, specifically at levels of 2.5 mL/L, 5 mL/L, 7.5 mL/L, and 10 mL/L. This analysis aims to assess both the functional aspects and the potential toxic effects associated with the primary components of these fertilizers. To observe the effects of fertilizers, treatments at four different concentrations will be compared to the baseline solution. The experiment parameters chosen are the hopping frequency of Daphnia per minute and the distance travelled by Daphnia over a duration of 10 minutes. The study is carried out by first setting up a standard behaviour baseline for Daphnia Magna as a reference point by including both the number of times the Daphnia hops per unit time and the distance it swims per unit time. Having accomplished this, recordings were conducted for a period of 10 minutes for every fertilizer concentration used in the individual set of experiment.