Name__________________________________________________________ Date__________________________

AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
ECO-COLUMNS
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this lab is to create simulated ecosystems in an effort to learn about ecosystems in the real
world. You will create, maintain and monitor an eco-column within a small group. You will write a lab
report independently.

PROCEDURAL OVERVIEW:
Part 1: Plan your eco-column
1. First familiarize yourself with the project and eco-columns. Look over the assembly diagram to
understand each chamber.
2. Identify a specific ecological problem that you would like to investigate through the creation and
observation of your eco-column. Write a problem statement that can be answered through
observation and data collection during this project.
3. Write a hypothesis that answers your problem statement. Provide justification for your hypothesis.
Note: You may choose to alter your hypothesis after you complete Part 2 of this project based on new
information, but write a hypothesis now using your prior knowledge and understanding of
ecosystems.
4. Decide what components to include in each section (which organisms, type of soil, etc.). See the lists
on page 3 for ideas. Think about all the requirements of the various organisms to survive (biotic and
abiotic). If you dont provide these requirements, your organisms will quickly die. Make sure that
you can feasibly acquire all the organisms you choose. Decide who in the group will be responsible
for obtaining each organism.

Part 2: Background Research

Conduct background research to acquire additional information. You will create a bibliography and write
a one page summary of the information you obtain which will become the background section of your
final laboratory report. This summary must include information on the following topics:
General eco-column information

Information related to Biodome and Biosphere projects that have occurred around the world

Information pertaining to the problem you are investigating with your eco-column

Each student needs at least 3 credible sources of information.

The 1-page summary of Background Information & a bibliography

in MLA format (one per person) is due _______________________.
Part 3: Construction
There will be two phases of eco-column construction. The first phase will be the assembly of the ecocolumn and the additional of all abiotic components and plants (terrestrial and aquatic). Other organisms
will be added one week after the initial construction once the ecosystem has stabilized.

Part 4: Observation and Data Collection

You will conduct weekly observations of you eco-column. Each observation will include:
The date of your measurement
The number of days your eco-column has been running
Aquatic habitat observations: plant growth, fish status, decomposition rate, odor
Plant growth and animal status in the terrestrial layer.
Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, P and N

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Soil temperature, P and N

Part 5: Presentation of Experiment

Part of the scientific method involves disseminating and sharing what you have learned. You will do this
in the form of a lab write-up (completed independently). Make sure you keep good records in your lab
book during the lab.

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IDEAS FOR CHAMBER COMPONENTS:

AQUATIC HABITAT
Fine grained aquarium gravel (provides bedrock)
Sand or topsoil (provides bottom sediment)
Untreated tap water or distilled water (provides aquatic habitat)
Boulders, sunken logs, and other miniature objects typical of a pond bottom
Aquatic plants and animals
COMPOST HABITAT
Fine grained aquarium gravel (provides bedrock)
Sand/topsoil mix (provides soil substrate)
Leaf litter (provides compost habitat)
A few chunks of turnips, potato, apple, or other roots, stems, or fruits
Twigs
Earthworms, pill bugs, millipedes, and other natural inhabitants of leaf litter
TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
Fine-grained aquarium gravel (provides bedrock)
Topsoil (provides soil substrate)
Leaf litter (provides decaying material)
Boulders, dead trees, and other miniature objects typical of a forest habitat
Terrestrial plants and animals
Food for animals as needed

Materials

Materials

Water

Soil, sand and aquarium gravel

Leaf litter

Compost Materials

Aquatic organisms: fish (feeder minnow fish), snails,

Any additional

6 clear 2-liter bottles

with lids

aquatic plants

organisms (plants or

Compost organism: pillbugs

animals) you would

Terrestrial plant seeds and grass

like to include

pond bottom and

8/30 please make sure you will have access to

following required materials--school or student will
need to provide:
http://www.fishersci.com/ecomm/servlet/fsproductdetail_10
652_695805__-1_0 - soil testing kit, it doesn't have to be

Miniature objects for

terrestrial layer

Plastic wrap

this one but it needs to test for pH, N, and P

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For your water kit you will

need: http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/Order_Kits.a
spx (This kit will work for your required Citizen Science
project as well)/ another kit that tests for the same things
works as well.

NOTES: Goldfish are not a good choice. They tend to poison themselves with their own waste.
Additionally, you do not want to include too many organisms in your eco-column. They will
have difficulty surviving.

Name__________________________________________________________ Date__________________________

Name__________________________________________________________ Date__________________________

BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS
Follow the instructions for making cuts in Column Assembly
11 Use plastic wrap and punch small holes in it and secure it with a rubber band
11 Insert the straw through the hole in the bottle cap of what will be the Terrestrial habitat
(bottle D). Straw should extend below cap and above soil.
11 Invert Bottle D (terrestrial habitat) over Bottle C and invert both over Bottle B (aquatic
habitat).
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STOCKING INSTRUCTIONS
Aquatic habitat (Bottle A)
11 Add a layer of sand or topsoil (about 1 inch) to the deep base.
11 Add a layer of gravel (about 1 inch) on top of the sand or topsoil.
11 Add water to a level about 1 inch below the top of the cut.
11 Plant aquatic plants with roots in the bottom sediment. A chopstick will help you push the
stems or roots into the ground.
11 Arrange boulders and other objects on the bottom sediment.
111 Add aquatic plants.
111 Let the aquarium sit until the sediment settles.
111 Aquatic animals will be added after one week once the environment has stabilized.
Compost habitat (Bottle C)
111 Mix equal parts of sand and topsoil together and add leaf litter.
111 Mix food items in.
111 Add compost animals as needed (you may collect some with the leaf litter).
Terrestrial habitat (Bottle D)
111 Add a layer ( inch) of gravel to the Bottle D
111 Mix soil and potting soil together, moisten, and add a layer (3-4 inches) over the gravel.
111 Add terrestrial animals that burrow to the soil (e.g., worms).
111 Plant terrestrial plants in the soil.
111 Arrange dead trees and other objects on soil.
111 Terrestrial animals will be added after one week once the environment has stabilized.
Maintenance Instructions
111 Eco-columns will be placed under the grow lights. They will be provided with
approximately 8 hours of direct light daily. (They will receive additional indirect natural
sunlight.)
111 Add a small amount of water to the terrestrial habitat weekly or when it appears to be
drying out. A fine spray of water on the plants also maintains the unit well.

Name__________________________________________________________ Date__________________________

Eco-Column Lab Report Instructions

In the eco-column write-up, your job is to clearly present the information about your eco-column. Your
report should include each of the sections below. The heart of your report should be your analysis and
conclusion. Don't just answer questions ... use this write-up as an opportunity to demonstrate your
knowledge and ideas. The final report must be typed except for drawings (12-point font, double-spaced).
It should also be free of grammatical and spelling errors.

Title Page (3 point value)

Must include a title for the project and your name. You may also include the teachers name, dates the
experiment ran, lab partners, etc.

Background Information (at least 1 page; 10 points)

A final, revised copy of the background information submitted for Part 2 of the project.

Introduction (22 points)

1. Problem Statement
2. Hypothesis
3. A diagram of your eco-column that identifies the biotic and abiotic factors present in each
habitat. Your eco-column has a unique structure. Draw a diagram that shows your column and what
is in each section. You can list the biotic and abiotic factors along the side or in separate paragraphs.
4. Diagram of the food webs within your eco-column. Make every effort to identify the species you
have added as specifically as possible. If an organism is unidentifiable, still include a drawing of it.
Draw each organism in a circle. Give the name if at all possible. Scientific names are bestplus
common name. You must provide the scientific name of at least 3 of your organisms.
Identify the role of each organism by putting one of the following letters just beneath the name of
the organism:
P - producer
C - consumer
D - decomposer
S - scavenger
Draw the energy arrows. These lines should go from the energy source towards the organism that
gets that energy. For example from the sun to plants in the water, or from a secondary consumer
to a tertiary consumer that eats it.
Write a discussion of your food web. Within your discussion include the following:
1. What are the top level consumers in your eco-column?
2. What would happen to these consumers if all the primary consumers were to die?
3. If the secondary consumers in one of your food chains consumed 4,200 kcal, what amount of
energy would you assume was available to the primary consumer? What amount would you
speculate will be available to tertiary consumers?
4. What would happen if the decomposers were removed?
5. What do you think is more resilient (i.e. damage resistant), a food web with many species or a
food web with just a few species? Explain your answer fully. If you can think of arguments
on both sides, discuss both.
Be sure to explain each of your responses to the above questions!

Results (data) (10 points)

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Include table(s) and/or graph(s) with data to show significant changes within your eco-column. You
will have to decide which data would be significant to show. (Try to pick data that will show change
over time.)
Include qualitative information from the disassembly of your eco-column (and the results from your
soil test).
Did you discover any unexpected organisms (for example: fungus grew or new microorganisms
appeared)? Did you not see any new organisms? Be specific on where you looked and what you
found.
BIG HINT!!! A before and after table would be a useful way to present information like numbers of
snails found, etc.

Analysis (10 points)

This part of the report explains your data and should be written in paragraph form.
1. Discuss the data for your eco-column with regard to your setup. What does your data say about what
has gone on in your eco-column? Make sure you discuss the data collected during the weekly
observations and the detailed soil and water measurements.
2. What conclusions or generalizations can you make about your eco-column and what connections can
you make to other natural systems?
3. Diagram and explain the nitrogen cycle as it occurred in your eco-column. Include the name and
description of each of the parts of the nitrogen cycle covered in class.

Conclusion (at least 2 pages; 20 points)

This is the most important part of the report!
Decide whether or not your data and observations supported your hypothesis. Then tell us what you
learned through your research.
Identify changes that occurred in your eco-column and why such changes occurred and their
implication as far as the health of the ecosystem is concerned.
Comment about the stability and sustainability of the various eco-columns in the classroom. Do some
eco-columns appear to be more stable than others? Why is this so?
Compare your artificial ecosystem to real ones outside the classroom. How are they similar? How are
they different? Was your eco-column a closed system or an open system or something in-between and
how does that affect it?
How is the information that you gathered useful to the whole community? In what ways would it be
useful to extend and expand this research?
Sources of Error: Identify any weaknesses in your investigation. These could include equipment
malfunctions, calculations or data collection errors, or simple human mistakes such as performing a
test incorrectly. Sources of error could also include poor experimental design. Identify at least 3
sources of error and explain how each would have impacted your data.

Bibliography (5 points)

Must include at least 3 appropriate sources in MLA format. See

http://www2.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm or use a site such as easybib.com for help
with MLA format.

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Ecocolumn inventory: Data will be used to develop graphs with final report
Measurement

Week 1 Week2 Week3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8

pH
Terrestrial chamber
Decomposition
chamber
water
Dissolved Oxygen
Water
nitrates
Terrestrial chamber
Water
Phosphates
Terrestrial Chamber
Water
Temperature
Terrestrial chamber
Decomposition
chamber
Water
fauna
Terrestrial chamber
Decomposition
Chamber

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Water
Flora
Terrestrial chamber
Decomposition
Chamber
Water

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