The Rate of Operculum Movement of the Fish in Terms of Temperature and Detergent Solution

1. The Rate of Operculum Movement of the Fish in Terms of Temperature and Detergent Solution RONNIE JASON A. BOQUILON

2. How fishes breathe The process begins by water in the fish’s surrounding entering its mouth‘s. Water enters the mouth by a very effective pumping system that involves the mouth and the outer flexible bony flap that cover the gills called the operculum. This is achieved by the opening and closing of the fish's mouth as it pumps water through the gills. When the fish’s mouth is open, the operculum closes and water is drawn into the fish’s mouth. Conversely, when the fish closes its mouth, the operculum opens and fresh water is then allowed to flow across the gills.

3. How fishes breathe

4. How fishesbreathes After water enters the fish's mouth it passes through a structure called the gill rakers. The function of the gill rakers is to act as a filter system by sieving out particles such as food or any other foreign particles that may have entered the mouth from the inflow of water. The filtered water then travel through the gill arches thus passing over the gills. Here each gill consists of two rows of extremely thin membranes called gill filaments. The structure of the gill filaments consist of sequence rows of a thin, disc-like membrane loaded with a capillary network called lamellae. Gill filaments which are projected out into the water flow allow water to flow across the lamellae. This will result in gas exchange where, oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged directly across the capillary membrane.

5. How fishesbreathes As water flows through the gills, the oxygen it contains (dissolved oxygen) passes into blood circulating through the gill structures (filaments and lamellae) while simultaneously, carbon dioxide (the waste product) in the fish’s bloodstream passes into the water. This deoxygenated water is then carried away and out of the body through the operculum. This process repeats itself continually and this is the process by which fish breathe. This is process is also known as respiration.

6. Objective This experiment aims to assess whether or not the operculum movement of fishes is affected by the temperature and the amount of detergent solution in aquatic environment the fish is present in.

7. Problem How will the temperature and the detergent solution in the habitat of the fishes will affect their operculum movement ?

8. Hypotheses • Ho: There is no significant difference of the operculum movement of the fish regardless to the temperature of the water it is living in. • Ha: There is a significant difference of the operculum movement of the fish regardless to the temperature of the water it is living in. • Ho: There is no significant difference of the operculum movement of the fish regardless to the amount of detergent solution of the water it is living in. • Ha: There is a significant difference of the operculum movement of the fish regardless to the amount of detergent solution of the water it is living in.

9. Materials • (3) Beakers with the same size with 800 mL. of water each • (3) Fishes with same length, size, and specie • (1) 20g Detergent powder • (1) 90g Ice • (3) Thermometers • (1) Timer

10. Procedure

13. Results Each of the fishes were placed in different beakers with the same amount of water and temperature at first.

14. Results • Beaker A The fish placed in the Beaker A was perfectly unharmed because there were no changes made to the water (27˚C) the fish is living in. Therefore it breathes, moves, acts normally. Those acts were the following: • Lively • Swimming normally • VibrantEyes • Normal operculum movement (46/min)

15. Results • Beaker B The fish placed in the Beaker B was flawlessly fine before the 90g was added to the water. But after the ice was allowed to melt which made the water temperature from 27˚C to 14˚C, the fish start to act unusually than the fish in the Beaker A. Those acts were the following: • Lethargic • Slowed operculum movement (28/min) • Stayed in one corner • Pale

16. Results • Beaker C The fish placed in the Beaker C was also lively before the 20g of Detergent powder was added in the water(27˚C). But after the Detergent was added to it, it made the most unusual acts from the 3 fish test subjects. • Those acts were the following: • Occasional seizures • Swimming horizontally • Gloomy eyes • Rapid operculum movement (110/min)

17. Discussion The researcher counted the operculum movements of the fishes per minute of the three (3) different fish set-ups. We all know that the operculum movement of the fish determines its respiration rate. Therefore, faster the operculum movement, the higher the respiration rate of the fish.

18. Discussion After observing respiration of the three different fishes and conducting the laboratory exercise to determine the effects of environment change on fish breathing rates, the researcher discovered that an increase in water temperature means a decrease in dissolved oxygen available for the fish to breathe. Since the water at 14˚C contained less oxygen than the water at 18˚C, the fish had to take more breaths in the warm water to get as much oxygen as it did in the cool water.

19. Discussion One of the reasons why the fish in Beaker C was because of the pollution made by the detergent solution in the water. That is why the operculum movement of the fish in the Beaker C was the fastest of all since the oxygen is depleting in the water where it stayed, and it did lots of seizures to struggle to its survival.

20. Conclusion Based on the results that data and results that the researcher has seen from the laboratory exercise that has been executed, the researcher can conclude that the lower the oxygen present in the environment, the higher the fish’s respiration rate. So, the oxygen contained in an environment and the fish’s respiration rate are inversely proportional.

21. References • http://www.lenntech.com/aquatic/detergents.htm • http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-295660.htm