At PU/WL BIOL 205 students set up an aquarium/terrarium ecosystem on their table, and monitor it over one (could be two)  semester(s).  Procedures are below, photos are here.  During the day a few groups work on the same system, 4 days/wk., in a room dedicated to BIOL 205/206.  Here labs meet only 1 day/wk, in a room shared with other courses.  So the ecosystem lab is "done today" by studying one set up, hopefully using electronic recording instruments.  The instructions provided here are for the future: you should involve your students and/or children in setting up an ecosystem, as it encourages caring about living things, and their interactions.

I. PRELAB:
Review lab procedures.  Read  "Plant & Animal Care for Your Aquarium/Terrarium  System" (at the end).

II.   OBJECTIVES:
At PU/WL each group designs a model ecosystem, and students' work centers on the observations of the relationships between organisms, and with their environment.  Here, the entire class will help set up one system in a partitioned (aquarium-terrarium) tank.  This activity represents an inquiry, designed to give you the chance to experience the “doing” of science in many of the same ways that scientists do: learning biology through inquiry.  Since this lab is a semester-long activity that incorporates a number of activities and assignments (@ PU/WL), the objectives for the lab are fairly wide-ranging.  In general, by the end of this activity, you should be able to:
1.  Describe the various components of an ecosystem and explain how and why they interact.
1A.  Understand Ecological terms: Growth curves, Carrying capacity, Equilibrium level, Competition, Symbiosis, Predation and Food Webs.
2.  Design, build, observe, and evaluate a small-scale model ecosystem, and explain its relationship to natural ecosystems.
3.  Describe several different types of models used in science, explain their roles in “doing science,” and explain the relative advantages and disadvantages of different models.
4.  Learn the Scientific Method with Hands-On Activities
4A.  Develop, test, and evaluate hypotheses addressing several different variables of an ecosystem.
5.  Explain the nature of science and the importance of collaboration and communication in the “doing” of science.
5A. Working professionally and effectively with members of other divisions
5B.  Working professionally and effectively with members of your group
5C. Acquiring and reporting information using various means

III.  PROCEDURES:
A.  Materials:  Aquarium tank (partitioned), light source, soil, sand, rocks/pebbles, seeds, sticks, anachins (pond weed), algae culture, guppies, pond snails, newts, crickets, anoles, frogs, mealworms, fiddler crabs, isopods.

B.  Design:  Each group designs either an aquarium or terrarium, as directed.  Keep in mind the organisms to be added, and their needs.  Make your design detailed, while also satisfying the given criteria.  Each group presents their design to the class for a vote.  One design will be chosen from each division.  If any modifications are made to the original design by the class, please note them carefully, and KEEP YOUR NOTES.

C.  Construction:  One  representative from each lab group will work on a team to construct the chosen design.  Follow the design exactly as noted, including what seeds to plant and their locations.

D.  Adding Organisms:  Organisms should be added to the completed system over a period of time, as instructed.

E.  Keeping a Notebook:  in which all your ecosystem experiment data and observations are recorded.  Your ability to arrive at reasonable conclusions which are scientifically defensible demands that you keep accurate, complete records.  The following suggestions should help you in making and recording good observations during the aquarium/terrarium activity.  Remember, another factor in being able to draw conclusions from your observations is the consistency and accuracy of your data.  Your notebook should include AT LEAST the following, as well as the DATE and TIME:

1.  Physical factors (measurements when possible):  a. temperature,   b. amount of light,   c. water (1. humidity or condensation,   2. soil moisture (wet, damp, dry),   3. water level,   4. water added,  d. others

2.  Organisms:   a. name,   b. number of each type,   c. food or energy source,   d. evidence of reproduction
 e. evidence of interaction   (1. between organism and physical factors,   2. between organism and other organisms)

IV.   EVALUATION:
Observe the system carefully throughout the semester(s).  Always ensure that the soil is adequately watered.  Take careful and consistent measurements.  You will need to decide what variables are important to measure, and develop a protocol for measuring them.  Observe long enough each time to answer the following questions:
1.    Do any organisms move between the aquarium and the terrarium?       If so, which ones?
2.    What happens to the size of each population of organisms over the course of time?
3.    Record the location of all organisms.  Do they remain in one location or do they move about the whole system?
4.    Describe how each type of animal gathers food, i.e., what does it eat and how does it get it?
5.    What happens to dead organisms?

APPENDIX B
PLANT AND ANIMAL CARE FOR YOUR AQUARIUM/TERRARIUM SYSTEMS
(All You Wanted to Know When Designing Your Aquarium/Terrarium and Were Afraid to Ask).

Guppies:    Guppies are small fresh water fish.  The males are more brightly colored than the females.  Young are born live approximately four weeks after mating.  As many as five litters (with numbers varying from 5 - 30 babies per litter) can come from a single mating, as the female is capable of storing sperm.  The first sign that a female is gravid (pregnant) is a dark spot that will appear on her belly.  This is called the gravid spot.  As the birth of the babies becomes more imminent, the spot moves down her belly towards the vent.  This is very easy to confuse with waste matter in her intestines, and should not be used as a basis for calculating birth.  Also, as the pregnancy progresses, the females stomach will become extremely distended.  Well fed guppies do not usually eat their fry (offspring)!, but this will sometimes occur.

Fiddler Crabs:    Fiddler crabs are small freshwater crustaceans who spend a lot of time out of water.  Males have one front claw much enlarged!  Males stand in front of their burrow and wave the enlarged claw, both to attract females and to distinguish their territory.  Crabs are scavengers, but occasionally eat live animals.

Newts:    Newts are amphibians that spend much time in water.  Amphibia are ectothermic (their body temperature is (controlled by) the environmental temperature), and maintain their preferred body temperature by moving into or out of warm places.  It is advisable to have a range of temperatures available to the animals.  The newts will seek out the temperature most comfortable to them.  The newts we use prefer heavily vegetated aquatic areas.

Snails:    Snails are mollusks.  The aquatic snails use are scavengers.  They are hermaphroditic (have both sexes in one organism but must mate with another) and lay almost translucent egg sacs.  Each species has distinct shell shape and markings.  Beware of introduced species!

Anoles:    Anoles, or the common North American chameleons, are predatory reptiles.  They are also ectothermic, and need to be able to raise their body temperature in order to digest their food.  Your light acts as a heat source, if the anole can get close enough.  Anoles cannot swim.    Frogs:   The dwarf frogs we use are wholly aquatic.    Crickets:   Insects that eat vegetation, and a food source for anoles.  These are the only creatures that will be added into the ecosystem on a regular basis to replenish their population.    Mealworms:    These are the larval form of a beetle, and they eat oatmeal.

ONE POSSIBLE ORGANISM INTRODUCTION SCHEDULE (best to start the algae, seed and acharis about a week before adding anything else, then follow this or a schedule using a different order)

Date	Organism(s)
9/6-7	algae culture, grass seed, anacharis
9/11-12	guppies
same	few mealworms
9/13-14	isopods
same	1 pond snail
9/18-19	cricket pair
same	1 frog
9/27-28	1 fiddler crab
same	1 anole
10/2-3	1 newt

DATA COLLECTED @ EACH CLASS PERIOD (4 days / wk, & few times / day @ PU/WL!)
Here, introduce Vernier equipment

	DATE	DATE	DATE	DATE
Temperature	.	.	.	.
pH of water	.	.	.	.
pH of soil	.	.	.	.
Amount of Light	.	.	.	.
Humidity/Condensation	.	.	.	.
Soil moisture	.	.	.	.
H2O level	.	..	.	.
H2O added- land side	.	.	.	.
H2O added- water side	.	.	.	.
Grass length	.	.	.	.
other info	.	.	.	.
Crickets added	.	.	.	.
Crickets eaten	.	.	.	.
Crickets remaining	.	.	.	.
other info	.	.	.	.
# of Guppies	.	.	.	.
Other Data / Observations	.	.	..	.
"	.	.	.	.
"	.	.	.	.