2. Protozoan and the Three Aeration Methods

3. Once upon a time…

4. There was a protozoan. He was a normal protozoan. Like the rest of his family and friends, he spent his days consuming bacteria, producing nitrogen, and trying to escape his predators, especially the big bad earthworm.

5. The big bad earthworms were eaten by larger organisms which the little protozoan had only heard of. So although the little protozoan and his relatives were unaware of this, they played a very important role in the environment by being the basis of the food chain.

6. Besides bacteria, little protozoan’s favorite food was oxygen. His favorite activity was swimming, which was convenient because that was also his mode of transportation through the soil. O2

7. One day, when swimming through the soil, little protozoan overheard an interesting conversation from above ground. Aeration is punching holes in the ground… To let in oxygen and water! I wonder if different aeration methods will increase or decrease the number of protozoa?

8. This really caught Proty’s attention…so he kept listening. He found out some interesting facts This Hollow Tine method involves taking chunks out of the ground with a soil sampler, so it will probably dry out the plot a lot. You’re right! The holes in the Forking plot are smaller because they are made with a screwdriver at an angle so it won’t cause as much desiccation Say what? It means drying of the soil Yea…or bigger holes would allow for more oxygen, so there would be an increase in bacteria, and therefore also in protozoa Oh! So maybe the Hollow Tine plot will cause the number of protozoa to decrease because they swim in water, and the chunks would make the soil dry out I think that the protozoa in the hollow tine will decrease the most, then the forking, and the no aeration plot will have the highest population density of protozoa Well now that you say that, I think that the protozoa in the hollow tine will decrease the most, then the forking, and the no aeration plot will have the highest population density of protozoa

9. Little Proty soon forgot about the conversation…until… One day, little protozoan was just going about his business when he heard his mother scream, “Get out of the way!” Little protozoan was scared, so he swam through the soil as fast as his little flagella would carry him. He looked above him, and what he saw sparked his memory…

10. Soil Sampler Soil Sampler Soil Sampler !!

11. That area of soil had too much desiccation and he could feel himself getting dried up. He swam away as fast as he could… but he soon found himself in just as scary of a situation.

12. Screwdriver !!

13. Little Proty swam as fast as he could and finally found peace in an area of No Aeration. This area was just right… The mayor soon came and gathered together the protozoa. He thought it would be best if the protozoa stay there while he figured out what was going on…

14. As it turned out…the holes came back three times about every three days. After the seventh day, the holes ceased to come… The mayor cut a slice of bacteria pie and they all celebrated !

15. So everyone lived happily ever after… …right?

16. What really happened to little Proty… The mayor called a final town meeting…and this time he called in the P.P.I (private protozoa investigators) They had just come back from their investigations abroad…in Mr. Brock’s classroom

17. Yes! We can! When it is clear out, not aerating the soil is better for the protozoa levels than any method of aeration- humans are actually harming us by aerating ! When it is rainy, aeration on the soil actually helps our levels of protozoa, or otherwise doesn’t harm them. Son, can you tell us what has been happening as a cause of this “aeration”? Forking method is better for when it is clear because there is less surface desiccation and more water stays in the ground The Hollow Tine method is better for when it is raining because more water can get into the soil Other than on Day 5 (when it was rainy)- There was not really enough difference between the two aeration methods to conclude that one was better than the other Look! We have made up this graph to try and explain what has been going on!

19. The truth behind the story of little Protozoan… (sources of error) Rain!- led to interesting observations –Filled in our aeration holes- defeated the purpose of aerating in the first place Repetition of Plots –How do we know that our data was not just because our plots were in a specific location? We lost some of our data due to misplaced Uhlig extractors…unless the big bad earthworm took it –No Aeration, Day 5, Sample 3 –Forking, Day 5, Sample 1 –Forking, Day 7, Sample 1

20. Little Proty wants to know… Would repetition of plots have changed our data in any way? If our experiment had gone on longer, would that have changed our data in any way? Testing for… –Nitrogen levels –Bacteria levels How do different levels of moisture increase and decrease the protozoa levels? What other weather conditions would have affected the protozoa levels? ?