Science
Assessment
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
After conducting our tests, I found that the highest group of bugs that were in the mangatawhiri river were Dobsonfly. These bugs where a sensitivity level of 7. This means that our river has little run-off from the farm and can dissolve oxygen really well to help support life in the water.
Our stream is good because of 2 reasons. Runoff and wetland filtration. The runoff around our area is good because of the Hunai’s. The water that comes from there doesn’t have to go through as much mud. The farmer also does a good job at minimising his use of chemicals to make the river worse. He also doesn't dump his cow manure in the river.
The other good thing about our river is the wetlands. These act as “kidneys” for the river by getting rid of all the nitrogen and other chemicals that run through and then use that for food for the mangroves. The mangroves then give back to the bugs living in the river by producing food for the small microscopic bugs, which then feed the bigger bugs and so on.
I think that if we had to improve our river we could work with the farmer to find a way to remove the cow manure from the river. The reason cow manure can get in is because the cows graze around the river, and then the manure runs into the river and pollutes it. We could stop this from happening by building a fence around the river. This could be go because the water in the river would be fresh and it would make the gardens around campus look nice.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
