The goal of this project was to use biotechnology to solve an issue in the world. There were seven main stages to this project. The first stage was to identify six problems and their limitations and to narrow them down to your final issue. Stage two was to research the problem you selected and have each person in your group develop a possible solution. Stage three was to select one of those solutions and contact your mentor. Stages four and five were to plan and create your product, and stages six and seven were to test, improve, and finalize your solution. Once our product was finished we presented to a biotech company.
My group and I chose to solve coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is when coral becomes stressed, so it expels zooxanthellae from it's tissues. Zooxanthellae is a symbiotic algae that lives in the coral's tissues and provides it with nutrients and the coral's vibrant colors. The corals become stressed when temperatures increase or decrease due to climate change, pollutants in the water, and low tides. When the zooxanthellae is expelled, the coral becomes a bleached color and is starts to die from a lack of food source.
Our solution to coral bleaching is iron fertilization. Iron fertilization is when water is fertilized with iron. The iron in the water fosters phytoplankton bloom, which attracts more zooplankton. The zooplankton will be an alternate food source for the coral. This alternate food source should nourish the coral and keep it from starving when the zooxanthellae is expelled.
Presentation
Materials List
Tests
Concepts
Biotechnology: Technology based on biology used to create a product. This was used to develop a solution to coral bleaching.
Controlled variable: An element that does not change throughout an experiment. The controlled variables in the iron tests are temperature, salinity, zooplankton, phytoplankton, coral, fish, iron levels, lighting, and wave pump.
Symbiotic Relationship: A type of relationship between two organisms that can be harmful, beneficial, or mutual. There are three main types of symbiosis: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
Mutualism: Where both organisms benefit from the relationship. This is the relationship between the zooxanthellae and the coral.
Commensalism: One organism benefits without affecting the other.
Parasitism: One organism benefits, the other is harmed.
Reflection
This was a good project to end the year with. One upside was that each person in my group cared about the project. Because of this, each one of us contributed an equal amount and worked hard. I did a good job communicating for this project, which was a personal peak. I communicated my thoughts and opinions while taking other's into account. One issue my group and I came upon was staying on task. I was in a group with my friends, so we tended to stray of task at times. Even though we went off task, my group and I still worked efficiently and finished the project in time. Another issue my group and I had was making decisions. Instead of researching problems in the world, we were researching and brainstorming solutions. This caused us to be indecisive in selecting a problem. One thing I can work on personally is my attitude. At times I would develop a negative attitude towards the project that was not helpful. For future projects, I will work on having a positive attitude and looking on the bright side of things.