Name _________________________________Date _____________________________
Section _______
Interactions within Ecosystems: Creating a Biobottle
Goal: To create a self-sustaining (lasting on its own) ecosystem that we can observe over the next few weeks.
The bottles are made at home and kept in the science classroom.
Guidelines:
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



You will be choosing your organisms at home (ask your parents to help)
You need to wear gloves while you collect the organisms
Each organism must have a source of food/energy in your bottle
Be sure to use small organisms (no mammals, reptiles, amphibians or birds); use organisms like insects,
spiders, water bugs, simple plants.
Consider including moss, snails, potato bugs and worms
*you need to carefully consider your biobottle. What abiotic features will you add? Biotic? It will help to look
some information up BEFORE you begin collecting (I would suggest starting on the internet). This will also help
with your reference section of your assignment.
*your biobottle can be aquatic or terrestrial; but make sure you have enough food for EACH organism to last 4
weeks*
Questions to ask yourself as you create your biobottle:
• What kind of ecosystem do you want to create (aquatic, terrestrial, or a combination of both?)
• Remember to take into consideration where the biobottle will be kept... is our classroom light or dark?
• What kinds of organisms will do well in this type of environment for a minimum of three weeks?
• Will you be able to provide a food source for all the organisms you put in the bottle?
Name _________________________________Date _____________________________
Section _______
Ecosystem activity journal
Background information: Discuss what the assignment is in your own words.
Brainstorm: Describe how you might want to organize your biobottle ecosystem. Remember to give specific ideas.
Materials List: What will you need? (Include how much of each).
Safety note: At no time during this activity are you allowed to open your biobottle. Mrs. Derhak will be responsible for returning any
surviving organisms to the environment at the end of the activity.
Introduction to your ecosystem
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Describe the abiotic parts of your ecosystem.
Describe the biotic parts of your ecosystem.
Predict what you will expect would happen in your ecosystem over the next few weeks. Give very detailed ideas in complete
sentences. Reasons for predictions?
List all of your organisms included in the bottle, and state what they eat and what they are eaten by.
Looking at this list, do you think your ecosystem is balanced? Explain and defend your decision as to whether it is balanced or
not.
In order to show that you researched your ecosystem thoroughly, please list three of your references. These may include websites, books
and magazines.
Observation #1 (date):
Visually observe your biobottle. Once the bottle has been sealed, you cannot open it to smell or touch the contents. Also, nothing can be
added or removed once a bottle is sealed. Construct a data table to show what is happening to the growth, survival, appearance and
number of your organisms, and its overall appearance (healthy, dying etc).
Observation #2 (date):
Observe your biobottle. Construct a data table to show what is happening to your growth, survival, appearance and number of your
organisms, and its overall appearance. Describe anything that has changed since last week.
Observation #3 (date):
Observe your biobottle. Construct a data table to show what is happening to the growth, survival, appearance and number of your
organisms and its overall appearance. Describe anything that has changed since last week.
Observation #4 (date):
Observe your biobottle. Construct a data table to show what is happening to the growth, survival, appearance and number of your
organisms and its overall appearance. Describe anything that has changed since last week.
Conclusion:
1.
2.
3.
How would organisms survive if we removed all green plants and left only the animals (and fungi) in the bottle?
How did the organisms in the biobottle get energy to live?
What organisms did not survive in your ecosystem? Hypothesize why you think they did not survive.
Reflection:
1.
2.
What did I do well?
What would I do differently next time?
Name _________________________________Date _____________________________
Section _______
Ecosystem Activity Rubric
Journal
Possible
Points:
2
8
15
20
15
5
Points awarded by
Self:
Points awarded by
teacher:
Points awarded
by self:
Points awarded
by teacher:
The biobottle was completed on time
The biobottle includes abiotic and biotic factors
The objects and organisms fit that ecosystem
Possible
Points:
4
8
3
Total points earned:
80
Name is on cover of journal and biobottle
The background information section and the materials list is complete
All introduction questions are answered correctly in journal
The data tables for the observations are well organized, titled and labelled
All conclusions and reflection questions are data based and complete
Three references are included
Biobottle