Possible responses to observations of ecocolumn
Abiotic factors are living things. The following are examples of life in the ecocolumn: grass, alfalfa, mustard, elodea, duckweed, algae, snails, guppy, cricket, isopod.
Abiotic factors are gravel, soil, air, water, rocks, dead leaves. Abiotic factors are non-living.
The fish in the aquarium need oxygen in the water to breathe. The guppies use their gills to remove oxygen from the water and give off carbon dioxide. The green plants in the ecocolumn take in the carbon dioxide, when light is present. The algae, duckweed, and elodea use carbon dioxide to make food. During the process of photosynthesis the plants give off oxygen.
The plants in the ecocolumn are green. In the presents of light, the green plants take in carbon dioxide from the air to make food. A by-product of this process is oxygen. The animals in the ecocolumn provide the carbon dioxide. All living things need energy to live.
The source of energy for the ecocolumn is the sun. In our classroom, we use a light to provide energy because of our angle to the sun.
Consumers are living things or biotic factors that cannot make their own food supply. They eat other biotic factors as a source of energy. The consumers are the cricket, snail, isopod, and guppy.
The pH level measures the degree of acid or base abiotic factor has. The pH scale begins at zero and ends at fourteen. The middle number, seven, represents neutral, not acidic or basic. Numbers between zero and seven are acids. The strongest acids are measured at zero. The bases range between seven and fourteen. The strongest bases are measured at fourteen. The color of the pH strip is matched to a chart on the container of the pH paper. This color indicated if there is a change in the acidity or base state of the ecocolumn. We test the soil and the water.
There should be a natural balance between the abiotic and biotic factors in the ecocolumns. Adding five crickets to the terrarium would make the environment unstable. There are only limited resources for the crickets to eat. There might be a limited food supply, limited oxygen, bacteria in ecocolumn, babies or fighting, death or disease.
A biotic factor is dependent on abiotic factors for life. Examples:
guppy- water
snail-water,
algae-water. light, carbon dioxide
duckweed- water, light, carbon dioxide
elodea- water, light, carbon dioxide
mustard- soil, water, light, carbon dioxide
grass- soil, water, light, carbon dioxide
alfalfa- soil, water, light, carbon dioxide
cricket-oxygen, water, light
isopod-oxygen, light, water, dead plants
guppies-water,