Compared to the previous weeks, theses are some notable changes that happened to our ecosphere:
- Green fluffy stuff covered the whole ecosphere
- Snail population increased
- Some part of the plant(Bacopa) wilted
- Much water evaporated
- Water color became green to clear.
Neither being a mold or moss, the unidentified green fluffy stuff prospered and finally covered the whole ecosphere. We expected that it would suffocate the organisms and kill everything, but surprisingly they were all doing well even something covering their body. The reason that some of the Bacopa plants wilted seem to be because of the snails eating them. Only the leave with holes wilted and others were doing fine. The cause of the wilting, the snail, actually asexually reproduced and became snails. We assumed that since the ecosphere has plenty of foods and no predators, it decided to share the goods with more of itself. Lastly, it was noticed that much of the water vaporized compared to the beginning, and the color of the water got clear again. just few weeks ago, the color of the water was over all green like it had a water bloom. Along with the unknown green stuff growing, the ecosphere seemed like it was not getting enough oxygen. However, despite the expectations, it survived and settled. Guess life is strong.
Figure 1. Green Fluffy stuff covering the whole plant. Only the parts eaten by snails wilted.
Figure 2. Baby snail.
Figure 3. Snail on the root of floating fern.
Figure 4. Overall ecosphere. Water actually cleared up.
I saw you guys ecosphere in the lab and it was really interesting. That furry green things was all over the plants in the ecosphere. Our one also has that green thing but it was all over the place. Intersting.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking the green fluffy thing maybe green algae. Green algae can compete with plants for nutrients; therefore, it may have been the case in your experiment. Green algae may have had better nutrition to have such extensive growth. In addition, the fact that parts of Bacopa are wilted suggests that green algae did out-compete plant for oxygen and nutrients.
ReplyDeleteI am totally agreeing with Ali. Our ecosphere also have the green fluffy looking-thing and it might due to be the high density population of green algae including their waste. We also have seen baby snails too, but they seem to came out from nowhere because we haven't put them in when we were setting up the ecosphere. They probably came from eggs in pond water. I also see that the bottom leaves of your ecosphere turns brown. This might be caused by some disruption into the nitrogen cycle.
ReplyDeleteHi Fun-Guys!
ReplyDeleteI find it so intriguing that the 'fluffy green stuff' started blooming without an apparent cause. Ali suggested that it might be algae, and I agree. It looks similar to the algae that grows in fresh water fish tanks when the water gets too warm. Maybe the few hot days we had last month were enough to give your algae life!
Amy
Ohhhh. Wow your snail actually reproduced? That's a big thing! Maybe the snail really suits in your ecosphere. I assume that if you continue your ecosphere, the snails will reproduce more. Great job guys! Your ecosphere looks really healthy for the snails.
ReplyDeleteHey, Nice pictures. It looks like your eco sphere did relay well. There are a lot of snails and other things that grew in there. Its interesting to see how the different things grew in there. There was not as much algae growth in there as mine. Ares had a lot of snails also. i dont know where they came from.
ReplyDelete