At the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, motorboats are used daily in order to allow students to observe the natural environment around them by conducting research, making observations and exploring. Zooplankton are an essential part of the Cranberry lake food chain, and high amounts of boat traffic may negatively affect their abundance in the water. Due to the varying degrees of gas levels in the lake, it is hypothesized that zooplankton from the marina will have lower percent mortality than the zooplankton from the swimming dock in the presence of gasoline (µL-1). Zooplankton samples were collected from the swimming dock and the marina. Water samples were then collected from Sucker Brook, the swimming dock, and the marina and used to compare the percent mortality between the zooplankton from the marina versus the dock. The experimental groups were exposed to 100 µL-1 gasoline, and both control and experimental groups were allowed to sit for 20 minutes. At the end of the twenty minute treatments, the number of alive and dead zooplankton were counted; twelve replications of this were completed. Statistical analysis will include ANOVA and paired t-tests. It is predicted that mortality rates of the marina plankton will be significantly less than dock plankton in all treatments
