Photo by V. Miller
July 11, 2007
Cigarette-Butt Filters in the Environment
The Effect of Cigarette-Butt Filters on the Heart Rate of Daphnia
Jayleen McAlpine, 13, Sunburst, Mont.
Finalist, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2006
Project background: After a family member died of cigarette-related causes, Jayleen wondered whether littered cigarette butts and filters could harm other organisms in the environment. She hypothesized that nicotine in the butts and filters would increase an animal's heart rate and decrease its life span. Jayleen decided to test her hypothesis in Daphnia, a tiny, freshwater crustacean.
Tactics and results: Jayleen recorded baseline heart rates for six Daphnia. She then added two smoked cigarette filters to a gallon of spring water and two unsmoked filters to a second gallon. She added Daphnia to these solutions and monitored their life spans and heart rates.
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| Photo by V. Miller |
Jayleen didn't see any significant differences in the animals' heart rates. She did find, however, that the Daphnia exposed to the cigarette-filter solutions died significantly faster than Daphnia living in spring water.
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