The Relationship Between Abundant Greenhouse Gases and Macroinvertebrates

Greenhouse gas levels have been strictly increasing at an unprecedented rate, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Two of the most abundant greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide, affect oceans by lowering the pH of seawater through ocean acidification which leads to the disruption of homeostasis within these ecosystems and harms aquatic organisms. This research project investigates the relationship between methane and carbon dioxide levels and the population of Cricotopus species with data obtained by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) collected at the Kings Creek (KING), Kansas site. There is not enough evidence to support there being a relationship between the concentration of methane or carbon dioxide and the Cricotopus species count; however, methane does have a stronger correlation with Cricotopus species count than carbon dioxide does.