This activity will permit students to test and experiment with a natural environment inside the classroom. Lentic systems are easy to demonstrate in the classroom by using a simple aquarium set-up.
Lotic systems are more difficult to demonstrate due to the constant current requirement.
The set-up is quite simple, and, with a little ingenuity, the stream can be located almost anywhere. With such an arrangement, each day is unique since there are constant changes in the plant and animal populations, the water chemistry, and physical properties of the river. One of the purposes of this model is to allow a class the opportunity to compare an artificially prepared river model to a naturally occurring lotic ecosystem. The artificial system may also serve as a model for a naturally occurring ecosystem that may be difficult for the class to travel to on a regular basis. In either case, this model permits the manipulation of abiotic factors in ways that could not be accomplished in a natural ecosystem.