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Abstract

Some plants grow only in water-logged environments. These plants are usually native to wetlands and are important for the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems. Wetland ecosystems are very fragile and susceptible to the toxic dumping of sewage and fertilizer run-off from neighboring farmland. One very common aquatic plant called duckweed inhabits many wetland marshes. Duckweed grows by asexual reproduction and floats at the surface of the water with tiny roots extending into the water below.

The purpose of our research is to be able to determine if duckweed will be able to be used as a natural indicator of pollutant in areas such as swamps, rivers and lakes. With all this stated, we will be required to research on how duckweed will respond to chemicals and what kind of pollutants will be able found in the water bodies.

The amount of duckweeds in each of the setups have shown a certain increase and decrease of numbers. These results are affected by the acidity of the water which is duckweed is in. As shown in the results of the experiment, the set up with the most acidity had the amount of duckweeds decreased from 10 to 2 or none to the control set up with just water had the amount of duckweeds remaining the same. The set up with insecticide in it had increased as well even though it is not clear if there is a certain amount of chemical in the insecticide of “Water Based Insecticide” will help the duckweeds grow better.

However, the third time in which the experiment was conducted. There was a decrease in the amount of duckweeds in the set up with insecticide. The insecticide might also contain another kind of chemical which will kill both duckweeds and insecticides at the same time. This also makes the result uncertain whether the insecticide will help in the growth of duckweeds.

At the end of the experiment, we conclude that we will be able to use duckweed as a natural pollutant indicator. As stated above, the greater the acidity of the water, the greater the decrease in the amount of duckweed, while the lower the acidity of the water, the lower the decrease in the amount of duckweed. This proves that the experiment is successful and it can be implemented in order to help identify polluted areas.

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