HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018

Rates of growth of plants in different environments

Background:

This research is about setting up mesocosms in different environments by

controlling the intensity of light. A mesocosm is a research to recreate an ecosystem
in a small space as a model to investigate the reactions of the organisms in different
conditions. 1 It is also used to observe how the organisms interact with the abiotic
environment. 2 It is a controlled research because it is tested on controlled
environments such as the intensity of light, the pH level of the soil, the temperature,
volume of water, etc. This research is very useful in finding out the optimum
environment for the living organisms in a specific ecosystem thus it allows the
scientists to observe the ecosystem without having to use an entire large ecosystem.

The mesocosm is a sealed environment, thus it only allows light to enter. Once
it is sealed the experimenter does not need to add water nor punch in holes at the seal
to allow the oxygen to enter because it is not necessary. A sealed mesocosm can
survive for years if it is given the optimum environment without the need to provide
water and other nutrients that are necessary for plants. The longest mesocosm
surviving to this point is 58 years by the year 2018, showing that with the right
conditions, a sealed mesocosm can live for a very long period of time, thus it is very
useful for collecting data of the plants in the mesocosm and observe what is needed
for the plants to survive for a very long time. 3

The aim for this research is to find the most suitable environment where the
living organisms will thrive the most, where the rate of the growth of plants is the best
and to find out whether the rate of plant growth affect the sustainability of the
environment in the mesocosm. This is to determine the extent in which the intensity of
light contribute to the sustainability of the environment in the mesocosm and also to
find out how the different light intensity causes different effects to the organisms in the
controlled mesocosm.

1
https://www.scribd.com/document/327148744/Mesocosm
2
https://dealingwithib.wordpress.com/mesocosm/
3
http://www.pickchur.com/2013/02/53-years-old-sealed-bottle-garden/
HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018
Research question: How will the varying intensities of light affect the rate of the
growth of the Wandering Jews (Tradescantia zebrina)?

Hypothesis: When one of the mesocosms have the optimum intensity of light, the rate
of the growth of the Wandering Jews (Tradescantia zebrina) will be the fastest. This is
because the Wandering Jews can only survive in a specific intensity of light due to its
nature of thriving under bright but indirect sunlight and not enough intensity of light can
cause the brightly-coloured foliage to fade.4

Variables:

Unit of
Variable Name Range
measurement
60 watts -
Independent Intensity of light watts
darkness
To be
determined
Dependent Rate of plant growth cm/day during the
course of the
investigation.

Unit of Possible effects in Methods of

Control Variable
measurement result control
This allows the
experimenter to obtain
ample amount of data. By setting a goal of
Time weeks If less time is given, 3 months to see
the experimenter may the plant growth.
not be able to observe
much data.
It will result in a fair test Maintain constant
Temperature as all the mesocosms temperature of
are placed in the same 24°C throughout

4
https://www.epicgardening.com/wandering-jew-plant/
HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018

condition of the research by

temperature. If the putting them in
temperature differs, it dark rooms by
may rate of growth of using an air
the plants may be conditioner to keep
affected and can it constant but
change. different light
intensities
controlled with a
lamp.
It will result in a fair test
as all the mesocosms
are placed in the same
condition of water. If Use the 50 cm3 of
Volume of water cm3 less water is used, the distilled water in all
plants may not obtain the fishbowls.
enough water, thus the
rate of growth
decreases.
It is for a fair test. If
amount of soil is not
controlled, there might
not be enough
Use 100 cm3 of the
nutrients to provide for
same type of soil,
the plants, slowing or
Amount of soil cm3 which is garden
even stopping the rate
soil, in all the
of growth. Using the
fishbowls.
same type of soil
allows for the best
outcomes of all the
results.
HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018
Safety precautions: Before doing this research, there are some safety precautions
that needs to be considered in order to stay safe in this experiment. Gloves and safety
goggles is a must in order to avoid dirt from entering the eyes and dirtying the hands.
While grinding the charcoal the experimenter should wear a mask to prevent inhaling
the charcoal dust. Depends on what the experimenter use to grind the activated
charcoal, they have to be careful when handling these tools to prevent injury. The
glass fishbowl has to be handled with extreme care and the experimenter has to wash
their hands before the experiment in order to avoid unwanted material from entering.
Make sure the mesocosm is placed in a safe environment.5

Ethical considerations: Be very gentle when handling the living organisms, do not
apply pressure or toss them around when transferring the earthworms and crickets
into the mesocosm. Make sure the soil covers the entire layer of the activated charcoal
as the charcoal may be harmful for the living organisms.

Materials:

Tools:

 6 fish bowls sizes [22 cm x 24 cm x 16.8 cm]

 Garden soil - 100 cm3
 Distilled water – 50 cm3
 Activated powdered charcoal
 White sand
 Pebbles
 Stones
 Saran wraps
 6 Lamps (60 watts max)
 Gloves and goggles

Living organisms:

 4 Earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris)

 2 Crickets (Gryllus campestris)
 Plants:

5
https://abennett2015.weebly.com/research--discussion.html
HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018
o Wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina)6
o Variegated Spider Ferns (Clorophytum comosum)

Methodology:

Setting up the mesocosm:

1. Prepare 6 fishbowls of the same sizes and volumes and label them A, B, C, D,
E and F.
2. Prepare a table to record all the data
3. Start with bowl A, firstly, clean up the fishbowl.
4. Then, put in 3 cm of pebbles and sand as a drainage7
5. Prepare the activated charcoal, if there is no powdered one, take chunks of
charcoal and grind them to fine powder. Put in just a thin layer about 1 cm into
the fishbowl. This will prevent moss from growing.
6. Collect soil and fill up 100 cm3 of the fishbowl.
7. Clean the area around the fishbowl of dirt.
8. Add 50 cm3 of water into the bowl
9. Collect the Wandering Jews (Tradescantia zebrina) and make sure the amount
of plants are the same across the other mesocosms. Collect some Variegated
Spider Ferns (Clorophytum comosum) as well.
10. Replant the plants into the mesocosm, make sure they fit in the fishbowl and
does not grow outwards.
11. Collect 4 earthworms and 2 crickets and put them in the mesocosm.
12. Seal the mesocosm with anything, preferably some saran wrap.
13. Place mesocosm in a dark room that don’t have any other light sources and the
constant temperature of 24°C and with 60 watts of light using a controllable
lamp.

Data collection:

14. Repeat steps 3 to 13 but change the fishbowls to B, C, D and E and F. For bowl
B, reduce the watts to 50 watts, for bowl C, reduce to 30 watts, for bowl D,

6
https://www.simplemost.com/best-plants-to-grow-in-your-terrarium/
7
http://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-4-ecology/41-species-communities-and/mesocosms.html
HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018
reduce to 20 watts, for bowl E, reduce to 10 watts and finally for bowl F, put in
complete darkness. Put all the bowls in different rooms that are dark.
15. For all 6 bowls, open the seal every end of the week and measure the length of
the plants. Do not open the seal of mesocosm unless necessary. Observe for
three months and record the data on the table made in step 2.
16. Once all data is collected, create a line graph and input all the data into it and
see which one has the fastest rate of growth by calculating for the average
length per day. Thus the experimenter has to compare the results and find the
fastest one.

References:

BioNinja. Mesocosms. Viewed online on 27/08/18 at

http://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-4-ecology/41-species-communities-
and/mesocosms.html

Dealing with IB. Mesocosm. Viewed online on 27/08/18 at

https://dealingwithib.wordpress.com/mesocosm/

Kate Desmond. The 11 Best Plants To Grow In your Terrarium. Viewed online on
27/08/18 https://www.simplemost.com/best-plants-to-grow-in-your-terrarium/

Kevin Espiritu. Wandering Jew Plant: Care, Types, and Growing Tips. Viewed online
on 30/08/18 https://www.epicgardening.com/wandering-jew-plant/

My Mesocosm. Viewed online on 27/08/18 at

https://abennett2015.weebly.com/research--discussion.html

Nziza Richard. Mesocosm (Page 1). Viewed online on 27/08/18 at

https://www.scribd.com/document/327148744/Mesocosm
HL Biology Lorraine V T 31 August 2018