Intro

Intro (the spacing got messed up in the last paragraph lemme know if you need me to fix it)

Paramecium Pond is a man-made system that has been integrated into its natural surroundings over the course of many decades. Built as an addition to the botanic gardens in 1931, the pond’s purpose is purely aesthetic. The pond is fed by the silver stream, a brook which itself is fed by drinking water pumped through a well. The pond drains through a grate on the southwestern end of the pond to Lake Waban. Paramecium Pond has been dredged twice in its history, due to an excess of deposited sediment--once in 1975 and once in 1995. The current depth of the pond floor ranges from <1 foot to around 5 feet deep. Due to its urban location, the pond is subject to runoff and pollutants from within its ecological system that might not be found in a more natural setting.

Heavy metals such as zinc, copper, chromium, manganese, and lead can accumulate at the surface of streets and roofs. These and other pollutants are ultimately carried to the pond by rainwater and become part of the sedimentary system. In the specific case of these heavy metals, a higher concentration is found closer to the inlet of the pond rather than the outlet.

For this project we have decided to focus on the metals zinc, copper, chromium, manganese, and lead. Known as “heavy metals” because they all have an atomic number of greater than 20, these elements are known to be harmful to many organisms including humans in certain concentrations. Paramecium Pond’s ecological system spans an area beyond several busy streets, residential areas, and former sites of factory waste disposal. The pond’s location is important when considering how the accumulation of heavy metals from various nearby sources may affect the diverse ecosystem of Paramecium Pond.