Whitenight 1

Hannah Whitenight

May 30, 2018

Biology - Mrs. Page

Ecocolumn Lab Report

Ecocolumn Lab Report

This experiments main purpose was to give us an opportunity to explore different types of

ecosystems, the living things in each column, conditions that are required to keep the living

organism stable, and the connection between every column in the ecocolumn. This project was

given to us to show the way each population connects to each other and depend on each other to

help one another to live. This relates to the real world by giving us a good example on how the

earth’s populations depend on each other to keep living organisms alive. Showing us that the earth

depends on us but also its own living organisms. The only downside to this ecosystem is that it is in

a closed space. There is no danger, expect for Harry the bunny, otherwise, there is no predators,

changes in the weather, and ect. Plus, keeping up with our ecocolumn gave us a better

understanding of the way our population works.

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The smell rank is a scale of the worst smell to the freshest smelling in each section of the

ecocolumn. The smell rank might not be exactly correct due to other members of the group smelling

each of the sections. Especially when there is allergies going around and we are limited to our

smelling abilities. On some days the smell was fresh, on other days the smell was unbearable. It

depended on the temperature that was kept within each section of the ecocolumn. We figured out

the hotter the temperature of the ecocolumn the smell would get worse. The Aquatic was the worst

of them all, because of all the water filtering from each section of the ecocolumn, it carried other

smells. Letting other smells enter the bottom of the ecocolumn, the aquatic habitat. Surprisingly, the

decomposition habitat was not the worst, the smell was probably the best smelling out of all of the

habitats. In the terrestrial habitat we had the second to worst of the smell rank, this may be due to

the water build up of water in the bottom of the terrestrial section of the ecocolumn.
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In all of the sections of the ecocolumn they stayed relatively the same temperature

throughout this experiment, the biggest jump between a temperature was in the terrestrial habitat

from 21 degrees celsius to 24 degrees celsius. The temperature was not a big effect on most parts of

our lab. It would have been different if we had weather changes, but due to the lack of weather we

needed to make it like the real world, we only got to experience the warmer sides of the

temperature. The downside to having different climate changes is that living organisms can be at

risk. In this project we had just the right amount of heat for our living organisms to adapt and

survive in their environment. Once again the only effects to having the temperature in the middle is

that it will affect the way the ecocolumn would smell.

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In each section of the ecocolumns we tested the pH levels. Most of the habitat were neutral

throughout the whole experiment. The highest the pH scale that it has reached was 9 which was still

basic, that was in both terrestrial and decomposition habitat. 7 was neutral, and most of the time, the

pH level was a 7. The carbon dioxide entering the ecocolumn helped the pH levels stay relatively

neutral. The pH only changed from usually a pH of 7 to a pH of 8, the average between all of the

ecocolumns is a pH of 8. The decomposition section as well as the terrestrial had a somewhat close

pH scale. The aquatic habitat stayed at a pH of 8 throughout the entire experiment, it had the lowest

pH scale. The pH helps the ecocolumn remain a stable environment to each habitat of the

ecocolumn.
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The turbidity of the water was mostly the same throughout the entire experiment, the reason

for the changes of the turbidity was the filtering of the water through each ecocolumn. Which each

water is going to consist of some parts of each section of the ecocolumn, you are getting water

being filtered through your terrestrial, down to your decomposition, finishing into your aquatic

space, going through each section. In each section, the water is picking up particles from each

habitat. With the water absorbing what it’s allowing to be taken in. By the end of each habitat the

water has picked up particles from each of the top ecocolumns, causing the turbidity of the water to

change. The filter would not always pick up everything it wants to pick up, which is one of the main

problems to the change of the turbidity. Which means the particles cause the water to get colour

everytime we drop water into the ecocolumn.

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The nitrate concentration in each section of the ecocolumn stayed the same throughout the

experiment, the only time the nitrates changed was both in the terrestrial and decomposition

sections. While the others were 0ppm the terrestrial made it to 5 ppm, this only happened once on

each sections of the ecocolumn. The aquatic habitat was able to stay at 0 ppm because of the aquatic

plant, providing the water more oxygen and carbon dioxide to the aquatic habitat. The

decomposition and terrestrial habitat were most likely to have that 5 ppm because of the water

filtering and not having any living plant that can help produce more oxygen and carbon dioxide.

During this experiment, we also had a date were we could not make any observation due to no more

resources to do our lab. During this whole experiment the nitrates stayed at a constant rate of 0 ppm.

With this experiment, I was able to learn on how different populations help each other in a

way. I got to understand the way the earth basically recycles resources to give to their populations.

In the smell rank, we found that the decomposition and terrestrial had a fresher smell to the aquatic
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habitat, the aquatic habitat had the worse smell out of the tree section in the ecocolumn. Then we

found that the temperature did not have a huge affect on the ecocolumn except due to the smell in

each of the sections. The temperature did not raise higher above 24 degrees celsius. The pH of water

from the start was neutral, starting to slightly rise to around eight to nine, which is just basic. At the

end of the experiment, the water’s pH went back down two neutral. The turbidity of the water in the

aquatic habitat stayed usually near the clear side, the darkest the water has probably ever got to was

a five, which is still fine, although it is near the middle we could still see our rocks very clearly. At

the end the waters turbidity reach to level three, saying we could see rocks, plants, and our living

organism just fine. The nitrate concentration stayed at 0 ppm throughout our entire running through

the experiment, except for one day, the decomposition and terrestrial had their nitrate concentration

at 5 ppm. Starting with our aquatic habitat, our producer was the aquatic plant. In the decomposition

habitat there was no producers. The producer in the terrestrial habitat, the succulent was its

producer. In the aquatic habitat the consumer was the fish. In the decomposition habitat there are no

consumers. In the terrestrial habitat the hermit crab was the consumer. The aquatic habitat does not

have detritivores. The decomposition habitats detritivores were the worms and slugs. The terrestrial

habitat did not have any detritivores. In the aquatic habitat, our aquatic animal, our fish, the plant in

the aquatic habitat provided the fish oxygen and carbon dioxide, this plant helped the fish able to

breathe. In our decomposition habitat we had a couple slugs, and a worm. They were there to help

the leaf litter and apple break down, and also for their food supply. There was soil in there were

they could move freely around were ever they could. In the terrestrial habitat we had a hermit crab,

which would bury himself into the soil giving the succulent in the terrestrial habitat carbon dioxide

and oxygen. Producers main purpose are for living organism to take in carbon from other consumer,

which taking that carbon dioxide helping them to breathe. The detrivors purpose is for the to break

down (decomposing) materials for them to become nitrates. In the Terrestrial section of the
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ecocolumn the crab breaks down ammonium which produces bacteria creating nitrates which is

absorbed by the plant. In the decomposition section of the ecocolumn ammonium is being given to

the slugs and worms which is releasing carbon dioxide to the leaf litter and decomposing apples

creating nitrates which are also being created by bacteria in the ecocolumn. In the Aquatic Section

of the ecocolumn, the fish releases ammonium which then releases bacteria, which then against

releases nitrates giving nitrates to our aquatic plant. In my ecocolumn lab, I noticed that our animals

needed a lot more space than what was given, and given to over population which is happening in

the real world, we are running out of room for living organisms to roam freely. There really is now

way to fix overpopulation in today’s date. (Unless you force people to stop making babies) We need

to treat our population much better than we do now as well, you look on the side of the road and

there is trash everywhere polluting the area is going to cause animals to eat what they see. This

project really open my eyes about how badly we are overpopulation leaving no room, and also how

the population works. It was fun to learn in depth on how the earth depends on itself to survive.

Rubric rating submitted on: 6/6/2018, 9:51:15 AM by stephaniep@vacavilleusd.org

0 4 5 6

MLA Format Not formatted Formatted, alot of Formatted, few Is in format, spell
Your score: 6 mistakes mistakes checked and
gramatically correct

Purpose missing Pupose is explained Purpose is described Purpose is discribed

Your score: 6 but connection are with some and is related
not made connections made accurately to the
but not fully "real world"
explained. Connections are
explained

Data Analysis missing some data is Data is graphed but Graphs are made for
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Your score: 6 graphed, graphs are there are some all data. and labeled
not labeled correctly labeling errors correctly

Experimental missing Some of the graphs Every graph is Every graph is

Analysis are explained with explained with a few explained for each
Your score: 6 few conections made connections made. section of the
ecocolumn. Relates
some of the changes
to other sections of
the ecocolumn and
links some data
together.

Conclusion missing Data trends are Data trends are Data trends are
Your score: 6 repeated, no attemps repeated some repeated and data is
are made to explain connections made to explained using
links to ecological niche and nutrient knowledge of
niches and nutrient cycles. ecological niche and
cycles. nutrient cycles.
Other connections
and observations are
included.

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