Environmental Statistics​
St. Anne's Belfield School
What does our class do?
The St. Anne’s-Belfield Environmental Statistics Senior Seminar is a field-based class that combines environmental science and statistics, specifically researching local freshwater aquatic life. The class has accumulated data over five years that has contributed to the much larger project of attempting to save an endangered species. This class has a main goal of determining the ideal habitat for the James River spinymussel (JRSM), in order to possibly introduce them to more bodies of water and reverse the decline in the JRSM populations. Mussels are indicator species of the quality of the water that makes up their environment. In order to determine the ideal levels of each variable in which the James River Spinymussel thrives, we tested the following variables of different bodies of water are: nitrates, ammonium, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), turbidity, phosphate, temperature, flow rate, conductivity, e. Coli, and benthic levels.
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Work
What have we done?
We have developed into focusing on this species through years of researching the water quality of local watersheds and rivers. The classes that preceded us shaped the vision and lead us to this year's work as a result of their efforts. They include:
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The Class of 2011-2012:
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sampled 10 randomly chosen sites of the James River Watershed.
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concluded that this watershed needed to be observed separately in different sections, in order to correctly determine its health.
The Class of 2012-2013:
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determined whether or not the seasons affected the water quality tests.
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concluded that the tests were not dependant on the seasons.
The Class of 2013-2014:
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determined the health of the Rivanna Watershed.
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concluded that the watershed was in satisfactory condition but there was a concern for the quality of the water.
The Class of 2014-2015:
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determined the health of the Moormans and Mechums Rivers. (See Environmental Statistics Class 2014-2015) These two rivers were focused on because they contain James River Spinymussel populations.
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concluded that both rivers were graded as healthy, though the Moormans River was found to be slightly healthier.
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The Class of 2015-2016:
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Collected data from many rivers in the James River Watershed where populations of the James River Spinymussel were known to inhabit. Class work can be found here: Environmental Statistics Class 2015-2016.
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Concluded that future studies should focus on the Rocky Creek population.