Eco tower observation 1 (03.25.11)

This is our eco tower on observation day 1. The animals that we originally put in it were two fish, four crickets, and about three worms. As far as we know the worms are still alive, but both of our fish died, and two of our crickets are still living. I think the resaon our worms and crickets are still alive is because the land chamber of the eco tower has plenty of oxygen for them to breath and grasses/soil for them to eat. Our fish simply died because they are gold fish, gold fish never last long, and they are not made for being in a small closed container like our eco tower.

Our bean plants that we planted in the soil are growing exceptionally well. They are very tall and are touching the top of the bottle and their roots are growing halfway down into the water. Also more algae is growing off the algae we put in there. Our plants turned out really well because there is plenty of  what plants need inside the eco tower.

Our water is very cloudy now that the fish are dead inside of it. It started out clean and clear and a lovely play pool for little Ping and Pong, but now its a dirty watery graveyard.

One very unpredicted thing that happened to our eco tower is that as our fish are floating belly up, the roots from our bean plants grew through them.

I predict that our bean plants will grow really big on the last day and that the water will be dirtier.

Ecotower- Sealing Day

Explain why this project was done. Name your group members, what each group member brought in. What 3 cycles had to be operational inside of the eco-towers? Plants and animals that were put inside the eco-tower.

This project was done to help us learn about the different cycles found in nature and how they interact with each other.

My group consisted of:
Myself
Emily P.
Stephanie
Sierra

I brought some algae, an empty 2 liter bottle and bean seeds.
Emily brought in an empty 2 liter bottle, an old baby cloth to serve as a barrier between the two chambers.
Stephanie brought the two fish to put in the aquatic chamber as well as the soil for the land chamber.
Sierra brought in the duct tape that would be used to seal both of the chambers as well as any cuts made to either chamber(bottle).

Inside of the eco-tower, the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle, and the oxygen cycle all had to be present and fully operational in order to make this project work.

Inside of the eco-tower, we had two goldfish and two pieces of algae in the aquatic chamber and we had worms, been plants, and crickets in the land chamber.

I did not speak a peek and I will wait until Friday to find out what happened.

Singing out,

Chris Neeley

Succession and Abiotic Factors

Yesterday (03.08.11), we went outside to gather the data that is displayed above. We went to six different places and took the measurements of both temperature and the height of any nearby plant life.

Below are pictures of the places that Rae Shar and went to in order to collect the data.

Site 1

The black top is the first site where we collected data from.

Site 2

The bare dirt is the second location where we gathered data from.

Site 3

The normal grass is the third location from which we gathered data.

Site 4

The fourth location was a shrub along the edge of the practice football field.

Site 5

The fifth and final site was a tree in the woods.

Signs of Spring

Sign 1:
Location: Football practice field
At this location, green grass could be seen on the field and there was also a small amount of green leaves on some of the trees. In addition, a slug was found on the remains of a cardboard box on the field. At this site, a light wind could be felt as it rustled through the nearby leaves, adding to the sounds of  crows cawing.

Sign 2:
Location: Shore of the pond
At this location, there were several bushes of Alder catkins growing along the bank of the pond; a clear indication of spring. A light wind could be felt blowing and could be heard gently splashing the water.

Sign 3:
Location: Small clearing in the woods
At this location, the most obvious sign of spring, a butterfly, could be seen fluttering around trees whose new growth could be seen due to the red tips of the branches. Also at this site, I found a tree that had moss growing on a stub branch along with broken acorn shells, an indication of a squirrel recently eating there.

Sign 4:
Location: Field in front of school

Again, wind could be felt as well as heard against the trees, some of which were starting to grow flowers on them.

Day 3 Site observations

Site 1:
Location: small field

This site was a rather small field with a small creek running though it, surrounded by a grove of small trees that developed into the woods. I had noticed that some of the smaller trees in this grove, along with the low-lying plants, were bent at odd angles; a clear indication of something heavy, such as a deer, had passed through the area.

Site 2:
Location: tree somewhere in the woods.

At this location, a large hole could clearly be seen in the side of tree, a sign of a woodpecker searching for food or carving out a nest.

Site 3:
Location: large fallen tree and a small standing tree

This site had a fallen tree that had fungus on it in addition to a large woodpecker hole. At this site, there was also another tree that had several smaller woodpecker holes in it.

Site 4:
Location:small fallen trees

At this site there were two different small fallen trees, both of which had broken acorn shells on them, a clear sign of a squirrel presence in the area.  

Day 2 site observations

Site One

 Location: pond
At this site, several flocks of both geese as well as ducks were able to be seen from the shore of the pond. In addition, the water in the pond was clear with a light green tint to it, and it was calm and still. On the shore itself, animal tracks could be seen in the soil, one of which could not be identified.

Site Two
Location: Woods
At this location, there was a vernal pool coming from underneath a tree. In the vernal pool, there was algae growing across the bottom, covering everything. There was also a small living organism swimming in the water.
In the trees above the vernal pool, a bird was seen moving around before if flew off.

Sit Three
Location: Fallen Tree
At this location, several birds could be heard rustling in the trees above, scrounging for food.

Day 1 site observations

Site #1

 
Saw signs of an animal presence, including holes in the soil as well as other pieces of soil that had been moved around.

Site #2

 
Saw signs of a deer presence as well; tracks in the ground and bites on the top of a small tree.

 Site #3
Saw signs of a fungi presence due to a ring inside of which the grass does not grow.