Effect of Wildfires on Embryonic Development
School Name
Dutch Fork Middle School
Grade Level
7th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physiology and Health
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is “an area where human made structures and infrastructure are in or adjacent to areas prone to wildfire. The purpose of this project is to determine if WUI fires can cause birth defects. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an excellent animal model to study the effect of environmental agents and toxins. The hypothesis is that If I treat the zebrafish embryos with the ashes from the WUI Fires, then the embryos will develop birth defects. I used ash samples from Vegetation Fire (rich in Iron) and two types of Structure Fires (rich in zinc and rich in titanium). These ash samples were dissolved in water (2mg/10mL). Each ash sample (200 uL) or water (negative control) was added in a petri dish containing equal number of zebrafish eggs (n = 19) in 4 mL water. Embryonic development was observed daily under a stereozoom light microscope. The results showed that 100% control embryos were normal and born and their hearts were normal. Ash samples rich in Iron (Fe) (Vegetation Fire) and Zinc (Zn) (Structure Fire) developed normally until birth. Ash sample rich in titanium (Ti) (Structure Fire) resulted in delayed embryonic development and 70% of the embryos died before birth. Although the remaining 30% embryos survived past birth, the newborn zebrafish showed abnormal heart. Thus, my experiment revealed that a direct exposure to titanium-rich structure fire ash can pose significant health hazards to life. Bibliography: The Chemistry of Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26460.
Recommended Citation
Azhar, Mustafa, "Effect of Wildfires on Embryonic Development" (2023). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 149.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2023/all/149
Location
ECL 340
Start Date
3-25-2023 10:45 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
Effect of Wildfires on Embryonic Development
ECL 340
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is “an area where human made structures and infrastructure are in or adjacent to areas prone to wildfire. The purpose of this project is to determine if WUI fires can cause birth defects. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an excellent animal model to study the effect of environmental agents and toxins. The hypothesis is that If I treat the zebrafish embryos with the ashes from the WUI Fires, then the embryos will develop birth defects. I used ash samples from Vegetation Fire (rich in Iron) and two types of Structure Fires (rich in zinc and rich in titanium). These ash samples were dissolved in water (2mg/10mL). Each ash sample (200 uL) or water (negative control) was added in a petri dish containing equal number of zebrafish eggs (n = 19) in 4 mL water. Embryonic development was observed daily under a stereozoom light microscope. The results showed that 100% control embryos were normal and born and their hearts were normal. Ash samples rich in Iron (Fe) (Vegetation Fire) and Zinc (Zn) (Structure Fire) developed normally until birth. Ash sample rich in titanium (Ti) (Structure Fire) resulted in delayed embryonic development and 70% of the embryos died before birth. Although the remaining 30% embryos survived past birth, the newborn zebrafish showed abnormal heart. Thus, my experiment revealed that a direct exposure to titanium-rich structure fire ash can pose significant health hazards to life. Bibliography: The Chemistry of Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26460.
