Ecosystem In A Bottle by Teresa

The last couple weeks we were doing a project in biology. Every group built a biome out of a bottle. And now I want to talk about what a biome is.

The biome we did was a closed ecosystem that can survive without any help from outside for a long time. Our ecosystem contained 3 different plants, soil, sand, stones and water and there were two worms in it  but you can put in whatever you like. Some of the kids in our class had some snails or even fish and they are still alive. That proves that the ecosystem actually works. The only things which influence the ecosystem from the outside are light and heat.

During the day the plants in there are doing photosynthesis and produce oxygen and glucose and these are helping them to produce biomass and grow. To complete photosynthesis the plants need carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.

The plants get the water that they need through their roots and releases it  through their stomata in the air. Because of the heat outside the bottle the water evaporates, condenses on the bottle and eventually will fall off as rain. The water cycle is really important for the ecosystem as it is in the “real world”. It makes sure that the soil and the plants always have enough water.

The plants produce all the things they need for the cellular respiration. And that’s what they’re doing at night. They turn the glucose by consumption of oxygen into carbon dioxide and water and that is what they need for photosynthesis.

The animals in there for example the worms are helping by using some of the oxygen the plants produce.

A little ecosystem is like a big ecosystem, it is combined by many different cycles and they determine and make it possible for plants or animals to live in there. I think this is really interesting. How you can create your own world in a bottle. The three best things about it would be 1. You don’t have to do anything to help it, once it’s closed, 2. It rains in it and 3. Animals can survive in it.