Area of Study: Lake Anna Reservoir

I have chosen the location of the North Anna River and the Lake Anna reservoir as the areas of focus for this course.  The North Anna River was dammed in 1972 to create a reservoir  by what is now Dominion Energy to form the Lake Anna reservoir which is used for cooling water for the waste heat treatment facility connected to the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant. Many people who live in the area use the water for recreation purposes. I would like to investigate the current biodiversity in different parts of the area related to the recreational uses and where different temperatures are. I had two main reasons for why I chose this location.  First, the North Anna Power Plant is very close to the area I and my students live (about 30-40 miles away), but it is far enough away that many of my students don’t realize that it exists until we discuss it in class.  I often get a lot of questions related to the plant and its impact on the area, and I think this will help me be better prepared to answer the questions.  I think this will also help me create lessons to help students understand the impact of the plant on the area it is in.  The other reason I chose it is because I have family that owns a lake house on the the lake, and I have often wondered about the impact of the cooling waters on the life in the area.

Biodiversity

Hello!  I am back.  I am now shifting the topic of this blog to focus on studying biodiversity.

My initial definition of biodiversity: Biodiversity is an area of study/ subject that focuses on specific geographic areas, the ecosystems in those areas, and the variety of life that lives in those ecosystems.  Understanding the biodiversity and change in biodiversity in an area can allow scientists to interpret the impact of climate, natural diversity, pollution, and human development on an area.

Edited definition after research: In addition to the definition above, the national wildlife federation https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Biodiversity.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.indicates that biodiversity is a wide range of life in an area. According to the website there can be multiple types of biodiversity. There can be species biodiversity, genetic biodiversity, and ecological biodiversity. The definitions and other interesting facts can be found at the website.