29th Annual Student Research Conference
Water Quality Analysis of Lake Nicaragua
Darell D. Hawley
Dr. LaRoy Brandt, Faculty Mentor
Lake Nicaragua is a very large freshwater lake located on the southwestern part of Nicaragua, Central America. Lake Nicaragua has been a very important aspect of the country's environmental development as water leaving the lake flows through dry tropical forests, cloud forests, moist tropical forests, wetlands, second growth forests and coastal forests in Central America (Montenegro-Guill'n). Water quality of Lake Nicaragua was assessed using macroinvertebrate and water chemistry techniques utilized by the Missouri Stream Team volunteer water quality monitoring program. The data indicated a relatively diverse macroinverebrate population with equal numbers between pollution sensitive and pollution tolerant organisms. These results suggest that the water is ecologically healthy in terms of biodiversity and physiochemical properties. Continued monitoring of Lake Nicaragua is recommended to ensure the long-term health of this impactful lake.
Keywords: Nicaragua, Water Quality, Macroinvertebrate, Missouri Stream Team, Water Monitoring, Ecology
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 4-11
Location: GEO-SUB
Time: 3:30