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Building Mini Ecosystems

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Building Mini Ecosystems

Read the field note and use its information to solve the mini-ecosystem challenge. Answer in full sentences where asked. A mini ecosystem models some interactions in nature, but it cannot include every part of a large ecosystem.

Field note: the jar on the windowsill

A group of students set up a clear, lidded jar with damp soil, a small fern, moss and a few fallen leaves. They placed it in bright, indirect light. After several days, tiny water droplets appeared on the inside of the glass. The plants stayed green. The students did not add animals. In the soil, fungi and bacteria were too small to see, but they could help break down dead leaves and return nutrients to the soil. A New Zealand forest, by contrast, covers a much larger area and can include many kinds of plants, animals and fungi, as well as soil, water and light. These living things interact with one another and with their non-living surroundings.

Investigate the jar

Use evidence from the field note to explain how this small system works.

1.Which choice best defines an ecosystem?

A group of living things with no connection to their surroundings
Living things interacting with one another and with non-living parts of their environment
Only the animals living in one place
A container that holds soil and water

2.From the field note, identify one biotic (living) component and one abiotic (non-living) component.

3.The students see water droplets forming inside the jar. What process most likely caused them?

Condensation: water vapour cooled on the inside of the glass
Photosynthesis: plants changed glass into water
Decomposition: fungi produced glass droplets
Erosion: soil moved up the jar wall

4.Match each ecosystem role to the best example or description. Write the correct letter beside each role.

Producer
Decomposer
Abiotic resource

C. Water in the damp soil
A. Fungi and bacteria breaking down dead leaves
B. Fern making its own food using light

5.Explain how fallen leaves could help the fern, even though the leaves are dead.

6.The jar is placed in a dark cupboard for a week. Predict one change you might observe and explain why.

7.A student says, “The jar is a complete copy of a forest ecosystem.” Is this claim accurate? Give one similarity and one difference between the jar and the New Zealand forest described in the field note.

8.Which change would most directly reduce the jar plants’ access to water?

Removing the lid so water vapour can escape more easily
Adding a small amount of leaf litter
Moving the jar into indirect light
Keeping the soil damp

9.The students want to test whether light affects plant growth. State one thing they should change and two things they should keep the same to make a fair test.

10.A nearby stream is becoming muddy after vegetation beside it was removed. Suggest one way this change could affect the stream ecosystem and explain the link.