Lake Mendota

The study of the microbial diversity in Lake Mendota will enable us to understand the different types of environments an organism can grow in. Lake Mendota was once a clean lake like any other lake. The problem arrived when houses being built near the lake with indoor plumbing decided to dump the sewage into the lake. Once that began a high number of weed and algae started to grow (1). The sewage being dumped into the lake was creating an environment of high nutrients for other microbes to grow. Another problem that accrued in Lake Mendota was the concentration of phosphorus in the lake. The high concentration of phosphorus in the lake attributed to the high amounts of algae produced and the introduction of different bacteria. The abundance of algae favors cyano-bacteria which causes a nuisance bloom (2). Understanding these condition may help in finding an organism that can attribute in metabolizing the phosphorus within the lake and prevent the continuing growth of algae.

Lake Mendota has many different chemical conditions which favors many different bacteria. In an attempt to study the bacteria in the lake we have to know the environmental conditions of the lake. From knowing conditions of the lake there can be an attempt to isolate out a desired organism that is thought to be in the lake. Lake Mendota is highly profitable to many different bacteria because it is high in nutrients. One can expect to find anything from enterics to bacillus within the because of its high concentration of different chemicals. Also with the dumping of sewage in the past, this will ensure a high number of different types of bacteria. Being able to isolate an organism from the lake can also help us determine what other organisms may habitat the lake. Many organisms have similar characteristics and being able to isolate one organism, one can compare that to other organisms with similar characteristics and determine if the environment is suitable for that organism to grow. Once that is establish other experiments can be conducted to isolate another desired organism.

Establishing the different conditions surrounding the lake can also help in determining whether or not an organism can survive in certain conditions. One has to determine if introducing a beneficial organism to the lake will survive in the conditions it is asked to grow in. Though bacteria are capable of adapting themselves to different conditions, can introducing a beneficial