The Effect of Pesticides on the Embryonic Development of Zebrafish

Abstract

The title of my science fair project is The Effect of Pesticides on the Embryonic Development of Zebrafish. My project is about the ways that a common fertilizer can hinder the development in Zebrafish eggs, also known as Danio Rerio. Zebrafish eggs are commonly used in scientific studies for many reasons. One being that their growth process is easier to study because they develop outside of the mother’s body. Another reason is, due to the fact that each egg is clear, scientists are able to view and analyze, clearly and with accuracy, the occurrences during the development process. Lastly, another reason is because their development stages occur, at the most, during a four day period, which keeps the study from being agonizingly long.

This study can be extremely beneficial to marine biologists and other related scientists who plan to develop more efficient ways to preserve the life of water dwelling animals. I believe that at the beginning stages of development the eggs will not be able to withstand the chemicals of the pesticides enough to survive to the end of development; therefore, my hypothesis is that at higher concentrations of fertilizer, more Zebrafish eggs will die, and at lower concentrations of fertilizer, less Zebrafish embryos will be killed.

To conduct my experiment, I needed to be equipped with: 6 Petri dishes, fish medium, a graduated