Kristine Cho

1/29/15

Eco-column Write Up
Can Organisms stay alive in a man-made habitat?
Purpose and Objectives
I am undertaking this lab to experiment how well an organism will live and if it will
survive in a man-made environment. I hope to learn what environment standards
are needed to support life.

Materials

6 2 Liter Clear Plastic Bottles

Gravel
Leaf litter
Soil
Clear Mailing Tape
Seeds
Chlorine-free Water
Aquatic Plants
Snails
Fish (preferably a beta fish)
Nails or drill

Hypothesis
If we were to put a living organism in a man-made environment, then believe that
the organism would live because we could mimic all the natural standards.
However, I would think that it would be important to be extremely careful in
handling your ecosystem.

Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Gather all of the materials

Clean the 2 liter bottles and remove and wrappings
Cut the a couple inches of the tops and end of the bottles as needed
Poke holes in the topes of the bottles (allow water to travel through)
Fill the bottom tier of the eco-column with water, sand, and rocks

6. Construct the eco-column as instructed

7. Add leaves, soil, small twigs, and bugs in the decomposition chamber
8. Add soil, plant seeds, and bugs in the terrestrial chamber
9. After constructing the eco-column, poke holes in the plastic bottles
10.Cut an opening in the aquatic tier to allow testing.

Vocabulary
Ph- the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution
Temperature- the degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or
object, especially as expressed according to a comparative scale and shown
by a thermometer or perceived by touch.
Dissolved Oxygen- microscopic bubbles of gaseous oxygen (O2) that are
mixed in water and available to aquatic organisms for respirationa critical
process for almost all organisms
Nitrates- a salt or ester of nitric acid, containing the anion NO 3 or the group
NO3
Phosphates-a salt or ester of phosphoric acid, containing PO 43 or a related
anion or a group such as OPO(OH)2.
Flora- a treatise on or list of the plant life of a particular region or period.
Fauna- the animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period