The outside designs that students paint also help control light levels. It is possible to stack the tanks with boards and cement blocks or on aquarium stands. Students first study the mocro-ecosystems from the previous year's classes. Groups are assigned complete clean-up and cataloging of the available resources. They must propose a design for their own micro-ecosystems and justify their design in terms of matter and energy requirements, trophic levels and population interactions.
Students continue to make observations on the ecosystems during the year.
The purpose of this project is the construction of functional micro-ecosystems that model naturally occurring ecosystems. The underlying principles of the structure and function of ecosystems will be studied and explored in class. The creation of micro-ecosystems will provide you with the opportunity to apply your understanding of these concepts. Ecosystems involve the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors and the establishment of complex relationships between organisms and their environment over long periods of time. I natural systems and should also reach a state of equilibrium or stability at some point.