North-Central Section - 38th Annual Meeting (April 1–2, 2004)
Paper No. 10-11
Presentation Time: 1:00 PM-5:00 PM

A QUANTITATIVE COMPARISON OF THE BENEFITS OF EUGLENA MUTABILIS AND A SIMILAR SPECIES OF EUGLENA IN ACID MINE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

SHEPHERD, B.S.1, WOLF, S.F.2, DANNELLY, H.K.3, BRAKE, S.S.1, and ADAMIC, J.1, (1) Dept. of Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State Univ, Terre Haute, IN 47809, sshepherd31@yahoo.com, (2) Dept. of Chemistry, Indiana State Univ, Terre Haute, IN 47809, (3) Dept. of Life Sciences, Indiana State Univ, Terre Haute, IN 47809

Euglena mutabilis, a photosynthetic, acidophilic protozoan, forms benthic mats in acid mine drainage (AMD) systems associated with coal mining activities. Recent investigations have shown that E. mutabilis has a significant affect on the pH of AMD effluent and the concentration of dissolved iron, as well as other hazardous metals common in such environments. In a previous study, laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the amount of iron removal that can be attributed to the presence of E. mutabilis. This study also recorded changes in pH as a result of the variations in AMD water chemistry. The current experiment involves the same procedures and uses a similar species of euglena to determine its effects on AMD effluent and to compare the relative benefits of both species to the removal of hazardous metals in AMD systems.

North-Central Section - 38th Annual Meeting (April 1–2, 2004)
Session No. 10--Booth# 11
Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology (Posters)
Millennium Hotel St. Louis: Missouri Ballroom
1:00 PM-5:00 PM, Thursday, 1 April 2004

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 13
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