Day 8

Question I have: Why is the decompostion level above the water level? Is it because the water goes through the soil and drains into lakes, rivers, streams, and ditches and so the precipitation is running through the plant, soil, and compost into the make shift pond? The ecocolumn is still thriving. We saw our spider today, but did not see the frog. Renee did see the frog yesterday and he was still alive. We placed fruit fly larvae in the ecocolumn today and hopefully we will have fruit flies by Friday. Our frog needs some FOOD!

Day 8-Renee

The spider looks good, but we couldn't find the frog again. Hopefully they will be happier soon b/c we put our flies in today. At first when I looked in the aquatic chamber, the tadpole and leach seemed sluggish. I worried they may be running out of oxygen or there was too much of something else, but they perked up after we messed with the ecocolumn a bit. There is some sort of little plant growth in the soil that was new...I don't know what they are, but they showed up all over the place in my garden too. The condensation is all over the container in all sections, so I'm guessing it is able to maintain a balance of its own. Although I was a bit concerned that all living things in it would freeze to death given the temp around this place!

Day 8-Melissa

Today we looked at our ecocolumn. It was pretty much the same as Tuesday. I did not see our spider or the frog. Renee saw the frog on Monday. It was on top of the soil at the top of the system. The plants at the top of the system are really growing tall. The tadpole and the leech at bottom are still alive. They are in the water with the plant life. The leech is really getting large. The tadpole is not really growing much. We had a lot of condensation on the sides of the system. The water was all over the sides of the entire container. I really enjoy the ecocolumn. I want my students to bring in bottles and dirt from their homes so we can do this lab. It is amazing how fast the systems change.

Day 8

Our spider managed to get from our decomposition chamber to our plant and soil chamber. How did that happen? He is on the leaf of the plant. Can you see him? There is condensation throughout the ecocolumn, but I noticed that the ecocolumn next to me had actual precipitation occurring. We have not yet added anything to the ecocolumn and I'm not sure if we will ever have to. It seems to be self-sufficient.

Again you can see the condensation in the decomposition chamber. The moss is still alive and we have new plant growth occurring.

Say hello to my little friend! Our tadpole is looking at you. I the plants must be providing enough oxygen to survive.

Day 8-Renee

Our ecocolumn looks good today. I was really excited to find the frog today...he seems to be healthy. The spider was hanging out on one of the leaves. I hope there are enough bugs and stuff in the soil for the frog and the spider to eat. There is lots of condensation in each of the sections. The water part looks good...the tadpole was swimming around and the leach is very active. I guess the oxygen and carbon dioxide are balanced...I was concerned with that at first. The plants are much taller thatn they were last week.

Day 8- Melissa

Today we looked at our ecocolumn. We first saw the spider on the top of the system. The plants are growing very tall. We also have new plants inside the dirt. The bottom part of the system contains our leech and tadpole. I have really enjoyed watching the system grow. The only thing is that we can not find our little brown frog that we put in our ecocolumn. We think he is hiding under the dirt. It may be cold in the room and he is keeping warm by burring himself in the dirt. The other observation is that he escaped from our ecocolumn.

Day 7

This is Lisa. Melissa and I decided to switch identities today. Our ecocolumn is doing very well. Our spider is still alive, but we could not locate the frog. We are assuming he is buried in the soil pouting because he is confined to a small area. The leach and the tadpole are still alive and doing well. The plants have grown and we have not had to add water yet to the ecocolumn. The condensation seem to be enough to keep the ecocolumn going.