College of Liberal Arts and

Sciences Biology
Fall 2015 Lab
NW 205-BI-01 Section 3657 - Fall 2015 Urban Ecology
Bio-rings Lab

Adapted from Truman Holtzclaws Bio-Ring Activity

Name:
Directions:
Take your "Bio-ring" (12 cm in diameter) outside and randomly
throw it out in a natural area. Do not move your Bio-ring once it
has been thrown. You may lift the ring to see whats underneath.
Activity:
1. How many different kinds of organisms did you find under your
Bio-ring?
Branch, walnut, leaves, grass, moss - 5
2. List the different organisms found under your Bio-ring. Also
count of each kind of organism. Add more lines if needed for the
organisms found.
a. Tree branch (Twigs) from an organism.
b. Walnut will be an organism.
c. Moss
d. Leaves from an organism.
e. Grass
f. Fly
3. Which organism is the most numerous in your Bio-ring?
Our area held an abundance of moss, covering about 80% of the ring.
4. Take a picture of the most numerous organisms.
5. How many different kinds of animals did you find under your
Bio-ring?
Just a lone fly stopped in the ring for a while.
6. How many different kinds of plants did you find under your Bioring?
Four.
7. What was the biggest organism in your Bio-ring?

Walnut, if to-be organisms count.

8. What was the smallest organism in your Bio-ring?
Moss.
9. Approximately how much biomass is under your Bio-ring?
(Estimate the mass of the organisms you found plants and
animals) Multiply their mass by 4 to get the total surface
biomass of your Bio-ring. Once you have the surface biomass of
your Bio-ring, double it because you have about an equal
amount of biomass under the ground. Our total biomass (above
& below the surface) in our Bio-ring is: = 12 grams
10.
How many cm2 are in your Bio-ring? (surface area = 1 r2)
36pi cm2? (.36pi m squared
11.

Using a 100 meter diameter circular area, calculate how much

biomass is in your selected area? 1062 grams 100/.36
12.
How much is that in pounds? (1kg = 2.2lbs) = 2.34 pounds
13.
Think of a way in which you could measure the total
biomass production of your selected area per day. "Be creative"
You could measure again after 30 days, and divide the number
by 30 to get a single days worth of biomass production.
14.
What two chemical compounds make up most of life's
biomass? Carbon and oxygen.
15.
What is the energy source for hooking these two
compounds together? The sun.
16.
What do most green plants give off during the day?
Oxygen.
17.
What do most green plants give off during the nighttime?
Carbon Dioxide.
18.
Name any living plant that cannot make its own food. The
European Mistletoe is a heterotrophic plant
19.
What is the most important food crop in the U.S.A.? Corn
is the most important food crop in the US.