What changes do you expect in abiotic conditions in or just above the sediments to those in the water column at the same site?
• There would be a difference in the water temperature. Given that the water column is closer to the surface than the sediments, it is more likely to have sunlight reach this area, increasing not only temperature, but also the type of organisms that need sunlight to live. Another aspect that would be different would be the nutrients that is present in the two different habitats.
How might a species of organisms and their abundance differ between the habitats, and might any differences be related to differences in abiotic conditions?
• The species would differ as a result of abiotic conditions. This is because certain organism need sunlight to survive, and other nutrients that are only present in the water column of the lake. However, there are organism that live in the benthos that could not survive in the water column due to many different reasons, one being the inability to float in the water.
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• The type of organisms found would be different at different depths in the water column. This is due to the resources available, for example, if the organism requires sunlight to survive, deeper areas would be less favorable for those organism. A second difference between shallow and deep sites would be the temperature of the water.
Scientific Questions:
1) Is the greater abundance of bacteria in the benthic habitat due to higher levels of dissolved oxygen?
2) Is there a greater abundance of organism closer to the surface or deep into the lake bed in the benthic