Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to create simulated ecosystems in an effort to learn about
ecosystems in the real world.
Part I: Set-up of your eco-column
Steps 1-3 you should conduct in class with your eco-column group members. Steps 4-7 you
should do at home.
1. On the first day of this Lab, follow the Eco-Column Assembly Guide to assemble
your eco-columns. You will need a pair of scissors or box cutters, five 2-liter, clear,
plastic bottles with the labels removed and a straw. You need to keep three caps.
One bottle cap needs a hole the size of a straw, with smaller holes around the larger
hole, a second cap has a series of smaller holes that are in a circular pattern in the
cap. The third hole has several random holes drilled in it.
2. Once your eco-column is assembled, identify what you are trying to discover through
the creation of your eco-column. Look over the assembly diagram to understand
each chamber.
3. Decide what components to include in each chamber (which organisms, type of soil,
etc…) See the list of possible organisms you might want to include in your ecocolumn.
4. Decide what background sources of information you will use (which parts of the
textbook or what other references you will need.
5. Write a hypothesis for each of the three chamber: aquatic, decomposition, terrestrial
6. Draw a DETAILED diagram of your eco-column and identify the biotic and abiotic
factors present in each habitat.
7. Draw the food webs you anticipate taking place within your eco-column. Make
every effort to identify the species you have added as specifically as possible. If any
organism is unidentifiable, include a drawing of it.
Part II Observations and Data Collection
Each week for five weeks you will make observation sof your eco-column. Each
observation should include:
 Date of observation & number of days your eco-column has been running
 Quantitative Data: pH, temperature, nitrates, phosphates, dissolved oxygen in
aquatic chamber; in terrestrial chamber: nitrogen, phosphorous levels, pH
 Qualitative Data: turbidity, plant growth, decomposition rate, fish status, odor, color
of aquatic chamber
Part III Lab Write-Up
The following are provide detailed instructions for your eco-column write up. The purpose
of the write up is to clearly present the information about your eco-column to your reader.
Page 1 of 6
Your report should include each of the sections below. Except for drawing and labels, you
write up should be typed, double spaced. FOLLOW THIS FORMAT!
1. Title page: name of project, authors, large fonts, pictures or drawings are nice.
2. Contribution page: This page is to be done only if it is a team lab report. On this
page each person on the team is to be listed, followed by what they did to contribute
to the project. EVERYONE must write at least a portion of the report as well as
perform the necessary lab work.
3. Next Page – Abstract: An abstract is a single paragraph that summarizes the entire
lab project including the results and conclusion. All research reports found in
professional journals have abstracts. The purpose of an abstract is to let the reader
know what the report is about so that he or she can decide whether or not it will
beneficial to read the entire report. The abstract is written LAST.
4. Next Page – Purpose/Introduction: This is where you identify the problem that
you are trying to solve. Tell what you are attempting to discover through your
research. You may want to tell why this research is useful or important.
5. Background: Every scientist gathers background information before they begin
their research. Background information will include lecture notes, magazine, journal,
and internet articles, textbook and professionals heard in person. Background
information should always be cited. For example, if you read an article, you should
identify the name of the article, author, publication date and volume number.
6. Hypothesis: This should be a statement indicating what you think the results of
your investigation will be. THIS IS NOT WRITTEN AT THE END OF THE
LAB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. Materials: List the materials and equipment you used during the lab. Indicate the
number of items used or amount used. This list should be completed enough so
anyone else could REPLICATE your experiment between your detailed diagram and
list of materials.
8. Procedure: Refer to your detailed diagram to explain your initial set up and detail
any changes you made during the lab. Did you replace any organisms? If so, when
and why?
9. Data Presentation: In a table format, present your quantitative and qualitative data.
Make sure your data tables are numbered and titled. You may use multiple data
tables to better present the information. Make sure you identify the baseline data.
You must have 3 to 4 testing sessions.
10. Analysis: Discuss the logic of your data for your eco-column with regard to your
setup. What does your data say about what has gone on in your eco-column?
 Chose one nutrient cycle (C, N, P, S) and diagram and explain how you think
it would occur in your eco-column. Explain how the biogeochemical cycle
affected the organisms living in your eco-column.
Page 2 of 6


Draw a food web and identify the role of each organism by putting letters
just beneath the name of the organism (P- producer, C-consumer, Ddecomposer, S-scavenger). Make sure your food web has energy arrows
going from the energy source towards the organism that gets that energy.
Identify the top level consumers in your eco-column. What would happen if
the decomposers were removed? If the secondary consumer consumed
4,200 kilocalories of energy, how much energy would you assume was
available to the primary consumer?
11. Conclusion: What conclusions or generalizations can you make about your ecocolumn and what connections can you make to other natural systems?
12. Sources of Error: Identify any weaknesses in your investigation. These could
include equipment malfunctions, testing problems, collection errors, simple human
mistakes. Sources of error could also include poor experimental design (set up).
Page 3 of 6
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM DATA TABLE
DATES
TEST
pH
Temp.
(ºC)
D.O.
(ppm)
Phosphates
(ppm)
Nitrates
(ppm)
Turbidity
Odor
Color
Aquatic
Fauna
Turbidity Scale
Crystal Clear = 1
Slightly Cloudy = 2
Moderately Cloudy = 3
Very Cloudy = 4
Blackish or Brownish = 5
Odor Scale
No Odor = 1
Slight Odor = 2
Smelly = 3
Very Smelly = 4
Devastating = 5
Aquatic Fauna
Live
Dead
Page 4 of 6
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM DATA TABLE
DATES
TEST
pH
Nitrogen
Potassium
Phosphorous
Observation –
Flora
Observation Fauna
Odor
Observations: Decomposition Chamber:
Date:___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Date:___________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Page 5 of 6
APES ECO-COLUMN GRADING RUBRIC
Points Available
Points Earned
Overall Format: Title Page, Contribution Page
5
______
Abstract: Was the abstract a clear and accurate synopsis
of the entire lab report?
15
______
Purpose: Was the purpose of the laboratory investigation
effectively communicated?
5
______
Background: Was their at lease 4 different sources of
information? Did the background lay a solid foundation
for the investigation?
10
______
Hypothesis: Were legitimate hypotheses presented for
each of the ecosystems?
25
______
Materials: Was a complete and accurate list of materials
used during the lab presented?
5
______
Procedure: Was there a clear description of what was
done so that other investigators could repeat and verify
the work?
15
______
Data Collection: Was there at least 4 sets of data points?
was the data collected thoroughly presented in tables
and graphs and/or charts? Were qualitative data collected?
15
______
Analysis: Was the team able to identify biogeochemical
cycles? Were food chain diagrams, food web diagrams
included and explained? Was the team able to make
cause and affect relationships? Were limiting factors
identified? Were abiotic factors discussed as a means of
explaining the results of the investigation?
25
______
Conclusion: Was the team able to make meaningful
overall conclusions based on their analysis? Did the
data and analysis support their hypotheses?
25
______
Sources of Error: Did the lab report include a
comprehensive discussion of possible errors?
15
______
TOTAL POINTS EARNED
150
______
Page 6 of 6