Monitoring the Quality of the James River, Lynchburg, VA from September to December By: Caroline Wood-class of 2015

The purpose of this experiment was to find an environmentally safe herbicide using a representative chemical Acacia Gum Arabic Solution (from the Acacia sengal tree) to serve as the environmentally safe chemical to use against a representative invasive plant species (Pueraria lobata(Kudzu)). Pueraria lobata seeds were placed into a petri dish and were grown on filter paper soaked with either a three, six or ten percent of an Acacia Gum Arabic solution. The control was watered with 100 percent water. Seed germination was measured over the course of five weeks. The results of the study revealed germination in: eight seeds (for the control) five seeds (for the ten and six percent groups) and two seeds (for the three percent group). An one-way ANOVA test was performed. A p-value of 0.16253 (alpha value being 0.05) revealed no statistical difference between groups, therefore, the null hypothesis was retained. The experiment resulted in a non-significant difference between groups. The research hypothesis that, If Pueraria lobata seeds were treated in a ten percent solution of the Gum Arabic extract compared to a six percent solution and a three percent solution, then Pueraria lobata seed germination and seedling growth compared to the control group would decrease, was not supported. In conclusion Gum Arabic does not appear to greatly decrease Pueraria lobata seed germination. Future Research Ideas Helpful Information 1. The use of a different model organism to show the effectiveness of allelopathy as an herbicide. 2. The use of different allelopathic plants against model invasive plant species. 3. The use of Allelopathic plants on insects as a safe insecticide as well 1. All project Ideas are possible! You may have to think outside the box for a more viable solution, but whatever you feel like researching, is possible. 2. Here is a really helpful article on allelopathy:Sodaeizadeh H., & Hosseini Z. (2012). Allelopathy an Environmentally Friendly Method for Weed Control, International Conference on Applied Life Sciences, Dr. Farhad Nejadkoorki (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-51-0725-5, InTech. The Abundance and Diversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrates at Ivy Creek Park, Lynchburg, VA By: Lucas Longo Class of 2015  Become proficient with water quality meters.  Spend time becoming acquainted with the different types of benthic macroinvertebrates.  Take lots of pictures to document procedures, sites, and materials. Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether the water quality of a riparian stream at Ivy Creek Park accurately reflected the amount of pollution tolerant and intolerant benthic macroinvertebrates found in the stream, and to see if Clemmons Lake had a negative impact on the invertebrate life found in the outflow stream as compared to the inflow stream. In this study, water quality samples were collected at three locations in a local stream with a Hach multimeter and a turbidity sensor. Invertebrates were also collected from rocks and from a ceramic benthic sampling device. All invertebrates found were captured and released on site. The water quality data at all three sites were found to be clean and pollution free. This was supported by the benthic macroinvertebrate findings; large numbers of pollution intolerant organisms were found at all three sites. Thus the research hypothesis, “if the benthic invertebrates found in the inflow stream are found to be more pollution intolerant, then the water for that section of the stream will be cleaner --as reflected by water quality parameters-than that of the outflow stream,” was not supported because high numbers of pollution intolerant invertebrates were found in the stream before and after it entered Clemmons Lake. Benthic macroinvertebrates were accurate indicators of the stream’s water quality.