SETTING UP SEALED MESOCOSMS TO TRY TO ESTABLISH

SUSTAINABILITY

Research question
How does the interactions between the organisms inside a mesocosm represent a
sustainable ecosystem?

Purpose
The experiment aims to try to establish a sustainable ecosystem within a sealed
mesocosm.

Background information

According to IB Bioninja (N/A), “mesocosms are enclosed environments that allow a small part
of a natural environment to be observed under controlled environment”. Organisms, such as
plants and decomposers are kept inside a transparent container and observed without
unsealing the container. Given the appropriate components, mesocosms can demonstrate and
represent the interaction between biotic and abiotic components, as well as nutrient recycling
similar to ecosystems. Thus, mesocosms are used by scientists to study the impact of climate
change on the communities and biodiversity a particular ecosystem. (Fordham, A. 2015).

The first layer of the mesocosm consist of pebbles, gravel or sand. This acts as the water
drainage. The next layer would be activated charcoal. They have the properties of binding with
toxic chemicals, which can filter out the toxins or harmful compounds in the mesocosm.
(MedicalNewsToday, reviewed 2020). Originally, they were intended as emergency treatment
for poisoning or consumption of toxins. However, nowadays they are used commercially. The
next layer would be the soil, which includes plants and decomposers, and other possible
organisms.

Hypothesis
We predict that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the mesocosm will increase, as the
organisms will produce more CO2 than the amount that will be used by the plant to perform
photosynthesis. Furthermore, we predict that there will be two different scenarios that our
mesocosm might exhibit. The first scenario is that the millipedes are able to reproduce: the
mesocosm will be sustainable as the nutrients are continuing to be recycled. The second
scenario will leads to the collapse of the mesocosm as the millipedes are not able to reproduce
(possibly both millipedes are of the same sex), hence the nutrients of the mesocosm will not be
recycled.

Materials
- 116.47g pebbles
- 49.15g charcoal
 - 63.01g soil
- 2 snails
- 2 millipedes
- 200mL water
- 1 fern plant
- 1 cylinder jar

Procedure
1. Measure and weight the material using
appropriate instruments.
2. Add the layer of pebbles at the bottom of the
jar. Distribute the pebble evenly and create a
flat surface.
3. Add the layer of charcoal on top of the
pebbles.
4. Add the layer of soil on top of the charcoal.
5. Plant the fern plant into the soil. Ensure that
the plant is stabilized.
6. Water the mesocosm with the 200mL of water.
7. Place the snails, millipedes into the jar.
8. Seal the mesocosm and place it in a windowsill
with access to sunlight. Photograph and record
the changes in the mesocosm every week.

Ethical concerns
The IB animal cruelty guidelines ensure that the inclusion of animals in experiment will not
cause pain and suffer upon those animals. As our hypothesis stated, there is a possibility that
the mesocosm will collapse. This will cause the organisms to die. However, as we are trying to
study the respiratory exchange between organisms, we decided to include 2 snails. Yet, we
spent a significant amount of time to ensure that they were terrestrial snails and not water
snails to minimalize the chances that they might die.

Observations and discussion

Week 1

This is the mesocosm’s appearance at the moment that it has been done
setting up. The plant almost reaches the height of the jar, yet there is still a
lot of space for potential growth of the plant. The soil has been watered to
an appropriate moisture level. We also have used the soil with enriched
nutrients, hence the growth of the plants will not be compromised.
The jar has been placed in a sunny windowsill for the access of sunlight.
Week 2

During the second week, we could observe that there are water
vapors staining on the walls of the jars. This occurred due to the
evaporation of the water inside the soil. As the mesocosm is sealed,
the water vapor cannot escape and is precipitated. We could also
observe that the snails are consuming the leaves of the fern plant.

Finally, there is a layer of small sprouts starting to grow at the bottom

of the fern plant.

Week 3

There was no significant difference between the interactions of the

organisms inside the jar. Partial of a leaf was eaten by the snails.
We were not able to spot the millipedes that were placed in the
mesocosm. Thus, we assumed that they were embedded in the soil
layer.
So far, there are no abnormalities in the color of the plant. There is still
observable growth of small sprouts at the bottom of the fern plant.

Week 4

We could see the bigger snail moving on top of a leaf and consuming. This
week, we were able to spot one of the millipedes at the side of the jar.
There are a few smaller leaves growing from the sprouts that were spotted
during the first week. Though, we do not think that the consumption rate
of the snails will allow both of them to survive after a period of time, as
there will not be enough food supply.

If there are still two millipedes and they are able to reproduce, the
mesocosm would most likely be able to become sustainable. However, we
have not been able to spot both of the millipedes at the same time. If only
one millipede is alive, eventually the ecosystem will collapse.
Evaluation
There are two important factor that heavily impact the possibility of constructing a sustainable
mesocosm that we need to take into consideration for the next attempts:

1. The amount of decomposers in the mesocosm: In order to have a sustainable

mesocosm, we need to have a sustainable population of decomposer. By increasing the
number of decomposers, we will increase the possibility of them being able to
reproduce, as there is always a probability that all the decomposers in the mesocosm
have the same sex.

2. Increase the biodiversity within the mesocosm: This mostly applies for the plants. If the
plant population was more bio divert, if one specie dies, the other will still be able to
sustain the ecosystem inside the mesocosm. As we are experimenting, we are not
certain about which plant is the best choice. Hence, having options also allow us to
observe and investigate the most appropriate plant for the given environment.

3. The size of the jar: With the size of the current jar, the growth of the plant is restricted.
We have also stated previously that biodiversity within the plant population is one of
the most important aspect to increase the chance of having a sustainable mesocosm. In
order to have different types of plants and allowing them to grow, we require a much
larger jar.

Conclusion
The mesocosm will still be maintained in the laboratory and sealed. We would like to observe
the and investigate it for as long as possible. Though, with our adequate research and set up,
the possibility of the mesocosm being sustainable is rather low. At the current rate, one or both
of the snails will die as their consumption speed is faster than the plant’s growth. We are also
not certain if the decomposers could reproduce. Even though the soil contains a lot of
nutrients, the plants will eventually stop getting the necessary nutrients as there will be no
decomposers left to recycle them.

Bibliography
BioNinja. (N/A). Mesocosms. Available: https://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-4-
ecology/41-species-communities-and/mesocosms.html. Last accessed Oct 26th 2020.

Carter, A. (2020). Activated charcoal: 8 uses and what the science says.Available:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322609#possible-uses. Last accessed Oct 26th
2020.

Fordham, D. (2015). Mesocosms Reveal Ecological Surprises from Climate

Change. Available:
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002323. Last
accessed Oct 26th 2020.