Message in a Bottle
Biology Students Study Ecosystem Interactions
by Andrew Garber
October 27, 2009
Biology students designed and built their own bottle ecosystems, including organisms from both the plant and animal kingdoms.
The project helped students grasp the concept that there are continuous cycles occurring in the natural world. These processes also occurred in the students' ecosystems on a much smaller scale.
Cycles observed included the carbon/oxygen cycle, the water cycle, and the nitrogen cycle. The students also examined the flow of energy through their ecosystems.
The processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration were shown to be opposites in the sense that respiration produces carbon dioxide needed by plants while photosynthesis produces oxygen needed by animals.
