Eco-Column Lab 

Group 6 

Jocelyn Huembes, Alejandra Castro, Adriana Nuñez, Fatima Navarro 

Ms.Gomez  02.25.2017 
Biology Period: 3 

 
 

 
 
 
 

PURPOSE 

The purpose of this project was to help us understand how organisms interact 
with each other and how each column would affect the other. By making those 
connections, it’ll help us get an idea of how real ecosystems work and how everything in 
the ecosystem is important. 

MATERIALS 

1. 5 2-liter bottles 
2. Scissors 
3. Guppies 
4. Dirt 
5. Crickets 
6. Snail 
7. Filter paper 
8. Tape 
9. Elodea  
10. Clover plant 
11. Push pin 
12. Apple core 

PROCEDURE 

1. Gather materials 
2. Cut the bottles according to the instructions 
3. Poke holes in the bottle caps according to the instructions 
4. Put the fish, water, and Elodea in the aquatic chamber 
5. Put the filter paper along the bottom of the decomposition chamber to filter out 
the soil. 
6. Put the soil, snail, dead leaves and apple core in the decomposition chamber 

  
 

7. Put the straw in the cap of the terrestrial chamber 

8. Put the soil, plant, crickets and pillbugs in the terrestrial chamber 
9. Put each chamber on top of each other according to the instructions  
10. Tape the eco-column together  

DATA 

 
Week  Terrestrial Chamber  Decomposition  Aquatic Chamber 
Chamber 
Week 1   Added water to plant for  Fuzz grew on apple,  Replaced fish second 
three days, plant died  possibly due to large  day, all two fish 
within the week. Three  amount of water added.  remained alive. 
crickets died, one 
remained alive. 

Week 2  Plant dried up, water  Apple began  Both fish died after 2 
not added once plant  decomposing and fuzz  weeks, their bodies 
showed signs of dying  disappeared.  remained white and 
(thought it was because  water was clear. 
of over watering). 

Week 3  Same as week 2  Due to decomposition,  Water became yellow, 

apple core became  but clear with pieces of 
orangish in color, leaves  decomposed fish and a 
show no sign of  clear film over water. 
decomposition.  Aquatic plant remains 
barely alive. 

RESULTS 

Our eco-column was unsuccessful for the most part, and nearly all organisms died 

  
 

within the 2nd week. The only successful chamber was the decomposition chamber, snail 
remained alive and apple decomposed as it was supposed to. If we would have watered 
the terrestrial chamber less perhaps the crickets and plants and maybe even the fish 
would have survived. 

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion, our fishes only survived for about two weeks. We continued to observe 
our eco-column for the rest of the weeks. The only thing that survived was the snail, 
other than that our fishes and crickets died. Our plant also didn't survive.  

REFERENCES 

1. Biology textbook 
2. https://sites.google.com/site/theecoproj/ecocolumn