Mesocosm Activity
Published on Nov 18, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
THINK-PAIR-SHARE
- Can we build our own self-contained ecosystems? Why would we want to?
Building artificial ecosystems or manipulating natural ecosystems allows us to investigate ecosystem function in simple, well controlled experiments.
This is important because we don’t fully understand the factors that influence the stability of ecosystems. Our ignorance about ecosystem function is compounded by the fact that humans are impacting natural ecosystems to an unprecedented degree.
Ecologists use “mesocosms” to test the effects of specific variables on the dynamics of simple ecosystems. This approach can be used to test how ecosystem composition is affected by :
(1) contamination by pollutants (2) enrichment by nutrients
(3) addition of an invasive species (4) removal of a native species
Looking toward the future, we may want to colonize the moon, or Mars. This will require the development of self-contained agricultural ecosystems capable of supporting a long term human occupation.
One caveat is important to keep in mind. Our simple artificial ecosystems may not faithfully represent the behavior of natural ecosystems.
This is important because we don’t fully understand the factors that influence the stability of ecosystems. Our ignorance about ecosystem function is compounded by the fact that humans are impacting natural ecosystems to an unprecedented degree.
Ecologists use “mesocosms” to test the effects of specific variables on the dynamics of simple ecosystems. This approach can be used to test how ecosystem composition is affected by :
(1) contamination by pollutants (2) enrichment by nutrients
(3) addition of an invasive species (4) removal of a native species
Looking toward the future, we may want to colonize the moon, or Mars. This will require the development of self-contained agricultural ecosystems capable of supporting a long term human occupation.
One caveat is important to keep in mind. Our simple artificial ecosystems may not faithfully represent the behavior of natural ecosystems.
Photo by Mary Keim
What is a mesocosm?
Small experimental areas that are set up as ecological experiments.
Types of Mesocosms
- Terrestrial mesocosms- Fenced-off enclosures of land.
- Aquatic mesocosms- Tanks set up in a lab to test aquatic ecosystems Ecosystem sustainability- sealed community of organisms, water and soil in a container. (Allott 212)
Photo by Arn@ud Ab@die
Sealed mesocosms-
-A sealed community of organisms, water and soil in a container.
used to study ecosystem sustainability- (Allott 212)
Brainstorm: how you will design your sealed ecosystem on a white board with your group members
Photo by Tsahi Levent-Levi
Things to Consider:
- Large glass jars are ideal but transparent plastic containers could also be used. Should the sides of the container transparent or opaque?
Photo by adonofrio (Biology101.org)
Things to Consider:
- Which of these groups of organisms must be included to make up a sustainable community: autotrophs, consumers, saprotrophs and detritivores?
Photo by FotoGraf-Zahl
Things to Consider...
- How can we ensure that the oxygen supply is sufficient for all the organisms in the mesocosm as once it’s sealed, no more oxygen will be able to enter.
Things to Consider:
- How can we prevent any organisms suffering as a result of being placed in the mesocosm?
Mesocosm Pre-Lab Activity
Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography
Write a design proposal including the following:
Photo by Alan Vernon.
