File copyright Colin Purrington. You may use for making your poster, of course, but please do not plagiarize, adapt, or put on your own site. Also, do not upload this file, even if modified, to third-party file-sharing sites such as doctoc.com. If you have insatiable need to post a template onto your own site, search the internet for a different template to steal. File downloaded fromterdesign. Research Question(s) 1. Will the number of zooplankton be different at different depths in the ocean? 2.Will different zooplankton body types be more common at different depths? Technology, Materials, and Methods To answer the research questions stated above I used the PlanktonPortal on Zooniverse.com and followed these steps: 1. First I searched for zooplankton on slides and identify them the field guide provided. 2. Next I recorded the depth, temperature, body type, and classification of the zooplankton from each slide. 3. After collecting 50 samples I began analyzing my data for patterns. Connections to NGSS Findings & Data Analysis Conclusions and Implications By: Sarah Hackworth Date: 10/27/2015 Scientific Research Poster Presentation Background Information Literature Cited Depth and Diversity in Zooplankton Table 1. The number of zooplankton identified at different depths for each major body type. There were six different major body types among the 50 zooplankton identified as part of this study. Of these six major categories of zooplankton all five were found at 0-25m and 26-50m depth ranges. Four species were found at m and only three found at m and m depth ranges. No single body type was present at all five depth ranges among the 50 samples recorded. Based on these findings there does appear to be a pattern in the number of zooplankton found at different depths, with the greatest numbers found from 0-25m and 26-50m subsequently. It also appears that there are some patterns in the types and abundance of body types found at different depths. One pattern that stands out is that bug-like zooplankton were only identified in the first three depth ranges, while jelly-fish like, ribbon/elongated, and round/no tentacle body types were found at the lowest depth range of m. Plankton play an important role in the global carbon cycle and are an incredibly important food source in ocean ecosystems (PlanktonPortal). Plankton drift through ocean currents and are classified by their inability to swim actively through ocean currents. They vary greatly in size and can be 0.05mm->1m (or even longer than a grey whale!). Different types of plankton have different life histories; while some plankton drift in ocean currents for their entire lives, others only drift until they reach a certain size or age. There are two major categorizations of plankton: phytoplankton (plants) and zooplankton (animals). Based on the results and data analysis of this study, it appears that there is greater diversity of zooplankton near the surface of the ocean and that the total number of zooplankton is different at different depths in the ocean. These findings might be able to be explained by the fact that phytoplankton are the base for the largest food web in the world and many zooplankton feed on either phytoplankton or other zooplankton (Plankton Chronicles Project). Understanding where plankton occur at different depths can help scientists better understand the functioning and overall health of the ocean at various scales (PlanktonPortal). It also appears that some zooplankton body types are more common at certain depths compared to others, however this study has a limited sample size and further research would be needed to support these findings. The presence of jellyfish-like, ribbon/elongated, and round, no tentacle body plans at the deepest depth range studied ( m) implies that these zooplankton likely feed on detritus or other zooplankton, rather than depending on phytoplankton, which are not abundant at this depth (Plankton Chronicles Project). HS-LS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support and revise explanations based on evidence about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems of different scales. This project fits this standard because a graphical representation of the data collected is used to provide evidence to support the research questions, which focused on biodiversity among zooplankton in ocean ecosystems. The crosscutting concepts addressed in this project include patterns and scale, proportion, and quantity. Scale, proportion, and quantity were used during data collection in understanding the size and quantity of zooplankton being identified. Patterns were identified during the data analysis process. The secret life of plankton. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2015, fromPlankton Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2015, from