Volume 6, Spring 2008 - Saddleback College

Fall 2007 Biology 3A Abstracts
from plant to plant. It was also demonstrated that same
sample types can themselves vary significantly from
one plant to another.
The experiment attests that the major factors
contributing to chlorophyll concentration in the sun and
shade leaves is overall location of the plant, and how
much direct sunlight the leaf type receives. In the
experiment concerning the monitoring of chlorophyll
in sugar maples tree leaves (Cate and Perkins, 2003), it
was stated that angle of incidence and PAR irradiance
affect chloroplast distribution and angle (Haupt 1982)
and chlorophyll content index values are significantly
affected by the incident irradiance, typically giving
lower values at higher irradiances (Hoel and Solhaug,
1998). In addition, in an experiment to determine the
absorption of light by chlorophyll solutions (G.
MacKinney, 1941), it was found that solvents,
including 80% anhydrous acetone, have an affect on
the absorption coefficients of chlorophyll a and b,
altering them.
Given that fact that the overall average of
chlorophyll content was higher in sun leaves versus
shade leaves, it would seem that sun leaves of the
lemonade berry plants typically contain more
chlorophyll than the shade leaves. This may be due to
the fact that since the sun leaves receive much more
sunlight to undergo photosynthesis than the shade
leaves, they have more chlorophyll and, therefore,
more effectively undergo the process that sustains the
plant. Since the sun leaves have a larger amount of
chlorophyll spread out over their surface area, it
increases the leaves’ ability of going through
photosynthesis more efficiently and producing the
necessary amount of nutrients the plant needs to be and
remain healthy.
Literature Cited
Campbell, N. A. and Reece, J. B. 2005. Biology:
Seventh Edition. San Francisco, CA: Pearson
Education, Inc. 1,231 p.
Cate, T. M. and Perkins, T. D. 2003. Chlorophyll
content monitoring in sugar maple (Acer saccharum).
Tree Physiology. 23, 1077−1079
Haupt, W. 1982. Light-mediated movement of
chloroplasts. Plant Physiol. 33, 205–233.
Hoel, B. O. and K. A. Solhaug. 1998. Effect of
irradiance on chlorophyll estimation with the Minolta
SPAD-502 leaf chlorophyll meter. Plant Science. 82,
389–392.
Farabee, M. J. 2001. Photosynthesis.
.
MacKinney, G. 1941. Absorption of Light By
Chlorophyll Solutions. The Journal of Biological
Chemistry. 132, 315-322
Speer, B. R. 1995. Photosynthetic Pigments.
.
The Effects of Ethinyl Estradiol on Aggressive Behavior in
Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens)
Thao Nguyen and IxChel Cruz-Gonzalez
Department of Biological Science
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
A natural and unfortunate effect of the unprecedented growth in the industrial and
agricultural sector and the general expansion of human communities is that biological
hormones and chemicals are increasingly making their way into the environment. Ethinyl
estradiol, an estrogen derivative, is commonly included in many oral contraceptives taken
by women and excreted in their urine. Due to inefficiency in water treatment facilities,
industrial and municipal waste products such as ethinyl estradiol can be found in aquatic
ecosystems in concentrations as high 64 μg/L. Basal aggression levels of six Siamese
fighting fish, Betta splendens, were measured by timing their agonistic response triggered
by their own reflection in a mirror. Ethinyl estradiol was then added to the water at a
concentration of 60 μg/L. The Betta fish were allowed to acclimate themselves to the new
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Saddleback Journal of Biology
Spring 2008