Methods
Between the
months of November 2006 and February 2007 we gathered water samples to test E.
coli and total coliform bacteria at four different sites around lake Wingra:
Vilas beach, Vilas lagoon bridge, Edgewood pier, and Wingra Park (refer to
Appendix 1). We tested the water on or near the first of the month for four
months. Samples were taken at a depth of 0.5 meters using a 100ml sterilized
plastic jar. We followed the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 Colilert System
instructions to prepare the water samples and then placed them in the incubator.
24-48 hours after the water samples were taken, E. coli and total coliform
bacteria levels were determined using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 Colilert
System instructio
ns
and MPN Table.
To test our hypothesis that E. coli levels would be higher in
areas with more geese, we researched data that other groups collected (Excel
file from observations by Edgewood students, staff and faculty) to calculate the
average number of geese at the beach and bridge sites during our testing months
(there were no data from the park and the pier). We also found the average E.
coli levels collected from the beach site in previous years as well as our own
samples to show the difference between previous studies and our own.
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