Ecology
Terrarium project
OBJECTIVE
This is my first Ecology project this year. I am pretty exited for it and can't wait to take on the challenge, and responsibility to create and sustain my own little ecosystem. For this project, I was creating an ecosystem and observing the behavior and changes of it throughout time.
This is my first Ecology project this year. I am pretty exited for it and can't wait to take on the challenge, and responsibility to create and sustain my own little ecosystem. For this project, I was creating an ecosystem and observing the behavior and changes of it throughout time.
MATERIALS
1) Glass vase
2) Helix Aspersa
3) Native moss
4) Lettuce buds
5) Seeds
6) Rocks, sticks, dirt
7) Cornu Aspersum
1) Glass vase
2) Helix Aspersa
3) Native moss
4) Lettuce buds
5) Seeds
6) Rocks, sticks, dirt
7) Cornu Aspersum
PROCEDURE
Method/Procedure:
Method/Procedure:
- Place the rocks at the bottom of the bowl.
- Fill the vase with soil
- Plant the lettuce seeds
- Put in lettuce and moss
- Put in the structures
- Put in snail
- Cover top with saran wrap
RESULTS
Week 1: We have put together all of the parts of the terrarium. The snail is situated and comfortable. The snail has eaten some of the orange that we gave him. He is also using much of the space throughout the habitat.
Week 2: The snail starts to hibernate and creates a mucus like membrane to protect it's shell.
Week 3: The snail now seems to be traveling more often to the "roof" of the habitat. He seems to be looking for a way out
Week 4: We have let him go, and he has gone back to the wild where he belongs.
Week 1: We have put together all of the parts of the terrarium. The snail is situated and comfortable. The snail has eaten some of the orange that we gave him. He is also using much of the space throughout the habitat.
Week 2: The snail starts to hibernate and creates a mucus like membrane to protect it's shell.
Week 3: The snail now seems to be traveling more often to the "roof" of the habitat. He seems to be looking for a way out
Week 4: We have let him go, and he has gone back to the wild where he belongs.
ANALYSIS
Some limiting factors that have effected our terrarium were the size of it, the amount of stuff we could put in their, and the amount of sunlight it got. Since the terrarium was small and narrow, the snail didn't have a lot of room to move around. The snail spent most of the time on the ceiling and underground in it's subterranean environment. Since the terrarium was inside the classroom they didn't get a lot of sunlight and as a result, the plants and moss didn't grow as well as they could have. If we had put them outside they would have grown better. The nutrient cycle in the terrarium was that the water and sunlight was used by the lettuce plant and the moss. The snail would then eat the lettuce plant and get its nutrients from the lettuce. The water cycle in the terrarium is that we put water in the soil and then the lettuce and the moss would absorb it. The snail would then eat the lettuce and get the water from that. The carbon cycle in the terrarium is that the lettuce plant and the moss get carbon and glucose (sugar) through photosynthesis, and then the snail gets its carbon and glucose from the lettuce. Then as the snail breathes, it puts the carbon back into the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle in our terrarium is that the lettuce plant and moss get their nitrogen through the fertilizer in the soil. The snail then eats the lettuce and the nitrogen transfers to them. When the snail excretes, the nitrogen is put back in the soil and the cycle continues.
Some limiting factors that have effected our terrarium were the size of it, the amount of stuff we could put in their, and the amount of sunlight it got. Since the terrarium was small and narrow, the snail didn't have a lot of room to move around. The snail spent most of the time on the ceiling and underground in it's subterranean environment. Since the terrarium was inside the classroom they didn't get a lot of sunlight and as a result, the plants and moss didn't grow as well as they could have. If we had put them outside they would have grown better. The nutrient cycle in the terrarium was that the water and sunlight was used by the lettuce plant and the moss. The snail would then eat the lettuce plant and get its nutrients from the lettuce. The water cycle in the terrarium is that we put water in the soil and then the lettuce and the moss would absorb it. The snail would then eat the lettuce and get the water from that. The carbon cycle in the terrarium is that the lettuce plant and the moss get carbon and glucose (sugar) through photosynthesis, and then the snail gets its carbon and glucose from the lettuce. Then as the snail breathes, it puts the carbon back into the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle in our terrarium is that the lettuce plant and moss get their nitrogen through the fertilizer in the soil. The snail then eats the lettuce and the nitrogen transfers to them. When the snail excretes, the nitrogen is put back in the soil and the cycle continues.