Got Calcium? The Effects of Varying Concentrations of Calcium on Algal Growth

Abstract

Algae has vital roles in ecosystems all over the world. They are a prevalent contributor, especially when pertaining to aquatic systems. Algae respond quickly to its surrounding factors, whether that be for its good or detriment. We hypothesized that if we change a nutrient factor, Calcium (Ca), more biomass will be produced. With algae being a promising clean energy source for the future, our research could show how to more efficiently produce this newest form of energy. Our experimental design has increased the amounts of calcium chloride (CaCl₂) added to water bottles to test our hypothesis. We carried out two trials over a two week period. After a week of growth, a hemocytometer was used to measure the number of cells produced in the previous week. The data we collected from our results had an increasing number of algae for the increasing amount of calcium we added to the bottles.