Blog 3 - Post 1 - Changes in our eco-column over 3 weeks

1. Predictions

We predicted that our ecosystem would survive the holiday, that is, that all the plants and the insects would survive. The plants were green and the insects were moving. This is because our ecosystem seemed to be sustaining itself. The plants would photosynthesize producing oxygen and water vapour - essential to any form of life. The ecosystem looked healthy with each zone performing well. We only saw one problem in the Terra zone. This was that some of the leaves on the plants were browning at the tips. This could have been from too much moisture. We did not predict any new forms of life. We predicted the maggots and fruit flies would still be there. The algae would continue to grow in the aqua zone.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_the_ends_of_the_house_plant_leaves_turn_brown

2. Accuracy of predictions

Our predictions we made were partly accurate. Part of our ecosystem survived throughout the holiday. The ecosystem seemed a lot drier in the Terra and Decomp zone. This was because it had not been watered for a very long time. There was also a lot less condensation in the Terra zone and on the perforated lid, as a plant had died . This dryness we believed was from one of our plants dying. The water level remained constant in the aqua zone and was the same after the holidays as it was before the holidays. Less evaporation has happened as we are changing seasons and moving into winter at the moment and it is becoming much colder. One of our plants had died due to dryness as the terra zone was found to be very dry, lacking moisture. Without moisture plants cannot survive! None of the insects that we put into the terra zone were still there. They had died and decomposed into the soil. We believe this is because a plant had died and there was not enough food, oxygen and moisture in the ecosystem. This negatively affected the flow of energy between the different organisms. There was competition between the praying mantis and the grasshoppers for food, water and light. This is a negative interaction that leads to  the death of living organisms. Fewer plants means less respiration and less energy transferred to the environment as heat. The food chain was disrupted by the plant and insects dying. We were inaccurate about the maggots and fruit flies as they had disappeared after the holiday and they were no longer feasting! 

Perhaps if we had used water-wise plants our predictions would have been more accurate. The algae in the aqua zone was however growing as predicted. A new worm was discovered in the decomp zone so our prediction of no new life forms was not accurate.

Luke Baker

3. Photographic Evidence Before and After the Holiday

BEFORE HOLIDAY

Decomp Zone - Before Holiday

Aqua Zone - Before Holiday

Terra Zone - Before Holiday

AFTER HOLIDAY

 Aqua Zone - After Holiday

 Terra Zone - After Holiday

Decomp Zone - After Holiday



Worm we found in decomp zone after holidays

Luke Baker