Lichens Investigation

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Pages: 8
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Unit 6 biology coursework: Lichens

Page 1: introduction Page 2: Research & rationale Page 3: Planning

Investigating light intensity in lichens

Experimental hypothesis: There is a strong correlation between light intensity and the abundance of lichens on trees.
Null hypothesis:
There is not a correlation between light intensity and the abundance of lichens

Research and rationale:
This investigation will reveal if there is any effect of light intensity on the amount of lichens that are present …show more content…
The algae are the only part of the lichen that provides nutrients and contains chlorophyll which is a necessity in order for photosynthesis to occur. It could be argued that lichens are able to harmoniously coexist within fungus and algae; lichens are able to survive and thrive in the most extreme conditions such as: hot humid, desert- like places whilst also being able to thrive in very cold conditions. It is evident that lichens have adapted and developed particular niches which have allowed them to be situated in a wide variety of environments, their survival is heavily aided by the fact that they are able to stop metabolic reactions occurring specifically in times where the environment is at its most extreme this will heavily reduce growth rate of the lichens but as a result the lichens can save a vast amount of energy. Furthermore once the conditions become suitable where the right amount of light intensity is present and the surface is moist the metabolic reactions will proceed. (n, 2015) As you can see lichens are able to thrive and survive in many environments, thus my investigates focuses on the abiotic factor of light intensity on the abundance of lichens on trees, how much light intensity will drastically affect my results? And whether or not implementing other methods such as only recording the amount of …show more content…
Although lichens have the ability to grow in harsh environments where certain physical factors may be limited, light intensity is the most crucial one. A sufficient amount of light energy is required to hit the electron within the photo systems of the lichen which is present within the chlorophyll of chloroplasts. Photo system I needs 700nm of light and photo system 2 needs 680nm of light to start photosynthesis. A light intensity that changes wavelengths will result in the rate of photosynthesis slowing down or speeding up as other physical factors are limited. (Fullick,
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