{ "nid": "66", "details": "\x3cspan class=\"title\"\x3eEcoBeaker: Sewage\x3c/span\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\n\x3cspan class=\"description\"\x3eWhat will happen if your city starts dumping lots of extra sewage into your local lake? Will it become a slimy smelly mess? This laboratory provides students with tools to address these questions. Using a simulated lake containing phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish, they try varying phosphorus inputs, and record and graph the resulting algal and oxygen levels in the lake. They also sample species at each trophic level to determine what would happen if the sewage were to contain a biomagnifying toxin such as mercury. At the end of the lab they write a \x26quot;letter-to-the-editor\x26quot; about their findings and provide recommendations for the city regarding how much more sewage can be added to the lake before there will be a serious risk of toxic algal blooms. This lab is used widely in non-majors and introductory biology classes as well as intro environmental science classes.\r\n\x3c/span\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\n\x3cbr/\x3e\n\x3cstrong\x3eLevel\x3c/strong\x3e: Intro\x3cbr/\x3e\n\x3cstrong\x3eKey Concepts\x3c/strong\x3e: Aquatic communities; Bioaccumulation of toxins; Eutrophication\x3cbr/\x3e\n\x3cstrong\x3eCourses\x3c/strong\x3e: Applied Ecology; Aquatic Ecology; Ecosystems; Environmental Science; Intro Bio: Eco/Evo/Genetics; Intro Bio: Non-majors\x3cbr/\x3e\n  \x3cstrong\x3eReviews:\x3c/strong\x3e\x3cbr /\x3e\n  \x3c/span\x3e \x3c!-- /description --\x3e\n\n        \n    \x3cblockquote\x3e\x3cem\x3e\x26quot;We plan to continue to use EcoBeaker software in our Biology 101 labs next year. Student and TA feedback was very positive on both these labs [Isle Royale and Sewage].\x26quot;\x3c/em\x3e\x3cbr /\x3e\n              Dr. Bruce Fall, University of Minnesota, 1,000 Student Introductory Biology Course\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\n        \x3cbr/\x3e\x3ca href=\"/search_result_details/brief/66\" class=\"node_brief\"\x3eRead less\x3c/a\x3e    \x3cbr/\x3e\x3ca href=\"/cart/add/66?dest=search_result_details%2F66\x26amp;dest_query=\"\x3e + Add to course collection\x3c/a\x3e" }