A Biosphere in a Bottle

Mrs. Boyd

The BioBottle Project

What is a BioBottle?

A simplified ecosystem contained within a sealed, 2-

3L soda bottle (“Closed Ecological System”)

Can be terrestrial, aquatic or a combination

A student-designed, synthesis activity illustrating an

understanding of biogeochemical cycles, food webs,

and energy transfer

The Assignment

Each group of 4 students must seal a clear container so that

no matter can enter or leave it.

The Goal is to include a community of organisms that is planned to balance each other in their chemical needs and waste products and to provide an energy flow from the light that enters the container to all living things inside

The test period will run for 1.5 weeks

A formal, written report will be produced

at the end of the experience consisting of:

Plan (due 10-14!)

Construction

Charts/Diagrams

Observational Records

Conclusion

The PLAN (due 10-14!)

Required prior to construction

Must include:

A. Type of container and method of sealing it airtight.

B. Type of physical environment -- land, freshwater, saltwater or

combination.

C. Non-living objects such as dirt, sand, gravel, wood, shells, etc.

D. Water source (tap, bottled, drinking, purified, aquarium, ocean,

synthetic ocean)

E. Fertilizing agents added, if any (soil water, Miracle Grow).

F. A list of the major plants and animals you plan to include and their

approximate relative numbers. Be sure to plan for greater amounts of life on

the lower parts of the energy pyramid!

G. Give the source of each organism (where you will get it from)

Biotic components – must include at least

one producer, consumer, and decomposer.

Include numbers and source

Most Important: Rationale for Success –

discuss WHY you think your Bottle

Biosphere will survive for 1.5 weeks once

sealed. Discuss the needs of each organism

and how those needs will be met.

Construction (10-28 for p.2,3; 11-6 for p.4,5)

Note the date of construction & date each organism is added. Plants may be started prior to addition of animals & sealing

Include as complete a list of macroscopic organisms.

Provide the source of each organism as a clue as to what other life forms may be “hitching a ride”. Also note if you rinsed the organisms prior to adding them to your biobottle

Record the condition of all organisms in your biobottle

Record the actual amount (mass, size or number) of each organism sealed into your biosphere

Explain any modifications made from the original plan

Describe your construction methods – how did you build the thing?!

Include in the construction report anything else that you think is interesting as you build your system

Charts & Diagrams

Purpose: to illustrate how life may be able to survive in your

biosphere

Must have at least two charts/diagrams for a C.

Energy Flow Chart – how light energy is converted to food energy

and cycled through your biosphere

Biogeochemical Cycle Chart – how materials found in living things

cycle through the biotic and abiotic components of your biosphere

Each diagram must be on unlined paper not less than 8.5x11

inches. NOT A POSTER!

All drafting and lettering should be neat and clear

Labeled, carefully drawn pictures of all organisms in your

biosphere should be included.

Must be in color!

Observational Records

Careful, detailed and dated observational records are essential in analyzing what is going on inside your biobottle and evaluating the success of your design

Make your 1st observation immediately after sealing

Thereafter, each member of the team will make a detailed observation every class day, or more often if you notice rapid changes within your biosphere

Each group member will make 5 observations for a total of 20.

Each observation should include a mention of each macroscopic organism and any changes in their quantity, size, condition and behavior

Other items to observe include the appearance of the water, soil, sediment and the sides of the biosphere

Conclusion (open bottles on 11-6 p.2,3; 11-14 p.4,5)

So what happened and what have you learned??

First Part - a survey of what organisms are still alive,

in what quantities, and in what condition

Second Part - an explanation of facts that you learned

from keeping a record of observations

Third Part – improvements and changes. How would

you re-design your experiment a second time? What

new information would you seek to gather? Give a

reason for each change.

Common Issues, Rules, and Questions

1. Keep it simple!!

2. No mammals, birds or

poisonous organisms

3. Remember the 10% rule

4. Lots of decomposers in soil,

but aquatics need natural

sediments or gravel from a

working fish tank

5. No “colonial” organisms

(ants, bees, termites, etc)

Common Issues, Rules, and Questions (cont.)

6. What do plants do at night??

7. Be sure to leave some room in your bottle

for an “atmosphere”

8. What will be the relative humidity in your

bottle? Are your organisms adapted to that?

9. Where can you get your organisms?

a) pet stores

b) bait shops

c) self-collected

d) plant nurseries

Common Issues, Rules, and Questions (cont.)

10. Do I fail if my bottle crashes?

11. Do I have to open up my bottle at the end?

12. What do I do with everything when the experiment

is over?

13. Other questions??

What works well in a Bottle Biosphere?

Aquatics:

anacharis/elodea

Indian waterweed (Hygrophila polysperma)

seed snails (often on the anacharis)

zebra danios

common guppies

betas

a variety of algae-eaters with good growth of algae in bottle or

anacharis

critical – gravel from working fishtank or substrate from a natural

source!

Warning!! Many aquaria plants are non-native invasives. NEVER dispose of these plants (or any store-bought organisms) into the

environment.

What works well in a Bottle Biosphere?

Terrestrial:

grasses

other ground covers

the “leafier” the plants, the better!

isopods (roly-poly/pill bug)

large variety of self-collected insects

crickets

worms (must have good drainage!)

10% rule(avoid 4th trophic level)

Warning: 100% humidity level inside biobottle – crickets mold

and moths stick to the sides!

Report due on 11-14 p.2,3

Report due on 11-25 p.4,5