National Science Education Standards have indicated that students in high school should be able to be able to design and conduct scientific investigations.  Further, the students need to learn to analyze data from their own investigations and finally, to be able to communicate their data in a clear, concise format.  At the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, students in the Ecology course are required to design and carry out a research project.  The project revolves around the evaluation of pesticides and other anthropogenic compounds on an aquatic habitat using the AquaTerra System. This system makes use of a plastic two-liter soda bottle filled with pond water, a sprig of Elodea sp. and gravel bottom. The students are required to prepare written research proposals, including sampling protocols, chemical chosen, and why they have chosen that chemical to investigate.

Results/Conclusions

After allowing the aquatic systems to equilibrate, the students apply the chemical per the manufacturer’s instructions.  In determining the changes in biodiversity of their bottles, the students count the organisms in a before and after application of the chemical format.  Using Simpson’s Index of Diversity, the students can determine the impact of the chemical by the change in diversity values, and then determine statistically if the change is significant. The final evaluation of student work is a written scientific paper where they draw conclusions about the impacts on aquatic biodiversity brought on by the chemical they chose.