Bacterial selection in a Winogradsky panel:

How would the bacteria in the panel differ in different lights?

The inspiration for this project was the panels at the Exploratorium

Question:

I hypothesize that certain lights such as fluorescent lights and LEDs will positively

effect the organisms while lights like Black lights may kill the organisms.

Hypothesis:

Will different kinds of light effect the growth of organisms from Lake Merced?

Building the panel:

Several sheets of plastic were rendered useless by huge cracks.

Getting dirty for science!

I had to clean the mud because it was mostly sticks

Pouring in mud

We could only pour in 2-3 spoon fulls at a time, but I got to watch it swirl around.

This took a long time

After an hour and a half of pouring and listening to “Serbia Strong” as motivation.

After two days of work:

Now the science can begin!

We need a variety of lights

1 Blacklight: Watts: 13 Volts: 120 Lumens: not listed Wavelength: 100-400

2 LED: Watts: 7 Volts: 120 Lumens: 450 Wavelength: 840-9503 Halogen: Watts: 40 Volts: not listed Lumens: 600 Wavelength: 190-4004 Incandescent: Watts: 40 Volts: 120 Lumens: not listed Wavelength: 6505 Florescent: Watts: 13 Volts: 120 Lumens: 825 Wavelength: 280-315

We add lights!

1. Blacklight 4. Incandescent2. LED 5. Florescent 3. Halogen

Now we wait…

The biome was exposed to light for 24/7 February 15 to March 25, 2014

Dark light

The life-forms are all really dark colored

LED

LED lights selected for a very light green life-form

Halogen

Halogen caused a huge die-off, probably because of the heat.

Incandescent

Selected a rust colored fauna.

Florescent

The light caused the bacteria to grow in a pattern similar to what you would see in deep space.

So why did we get different colors growing under each light?

LED supports the blue green range Fluorescent supports a range of growth Blacklight selects for beta-carotene Halogen selects for beta-carotene (barely)Incandescent supports only in the yellow red range

Conclusion:While I was correct in thinking that fluorescent lights and LEDs would effect the growth of the organisms, it turns out that I was wrong when I said that the Black light may kill the life inside. The Black light was able to support dark forms of life.

What I would change:If I was able to change this experiment, I would:1. Find out a way to eliminate heat from the lights.2. Create several boards at once and compare results3. Incorporate natural sunlight into the project.