July 20 Final entry

Today is the last day for our eco-column entries as the class is coming to an end. During the two week period, I have seen condensation and evaportation occur. Transpiration was also evident. The life and death cycle was perpetuated. Growth was seen in new roots and leaves in the terrarium, the aquarium, and even in the decomposition chamber. The beetles and mealworms are getting bigger and fatter. Death was observed in the dying of our lizard.

Death in the EcoColumn

I was very upset upon viewing our EcoColumn today! To my demise Lizzy, our lizard, was dead. At first, I though it was due to the lack of food--Fruit Flies, but after thinking about it could it of been due to the temperature of the room where we stored the EcoColumns???? All other living creatures seem to be thriving, but not the lizard! I did observe a fruit fly in our decomposition chamber. ONE! I guess one is better than none! We did however add more fruit fly larvae to the decomp chamber in hopes of more to hatch. Our water is still dark and our salvinia is growing like weeds! Even though I was very disappointed with finding the death of our lizard, I still see lots of progress in other areas of our EcoColumn.

July 18--Sad news!

Today was a sad day for our eco-column. Lizzy the Lizard died today. We have come to the conclusion that the room was just too cold for him and he froze. On the bright side, we had a fruit fly in the decomposition chamber. Our beetles are still having a feast on the banana peel. Michael brought in his fruit flies. We added a little of the banana mush that contained fruit fly larvae to our decomposition chamber. Hopefully by Friday, we will have more than one fruit fly.

Well it seems that the banana peel we added yesterday was a big hit with the beetles! Those two beetles are going to turn into big pigs by the time they finish with the banana peel! In the decomposition chamber I noticed today that we have some sprouting going on inside the humus as well as the very tiny insects I viewed both yesterday and today. I am thinking that these very small insects could possibly be chiggers! The water in our aquarium chamber is getting darker, which could possibly from the cap of the decomposition chamber which has soil material in it, is mixing with the water. At the top of our EcoColumn our frog, lizard, and slug all seem to be thriving. I think they are very hungry, so I hope that the banana gives us some fruit flies soon!!!! We did discover that we had another slug besides the one we put into the decomposition chamber at the beginning which has now took up shop in the top chamber with the frog and the lizard. I wonder how we got another one???? Lots of things going on in our EcoColumn which is very exciting.

July 17th--New Growth

Things are still happening. In the decomposition chamber, a tiny new green leaf has appeared in the humus layer--NOT on top, but in the layer. I wonder what type of seed has taken root.
I really do not like how the water in the aquarium is turning a clear, dark brown color. The water isn't muddy, but it looks bad. I think this is happening because of the tiny soil particles that are slowly draining down through the chambers, especially the decomposition chamber. I wonder if adding a little sand to the bottom of the decomposition chamber would help clear up the water or would the sand fall through. Is there something in bayou water that causes it to become dark brown or is there a chemical(s) from the salvinia that causes the brown color? This needs to be checked out!

I feel that our little lizard needs some type of food. We are waiting for fruit flies. The little slug was visible today. Growth is taking place in the terrarium. The vinca plant is starting to stand taller and the lilly has new roots.

Well today our aquarium chamber water is very brown. Our water is darker than the water in other groups columns. I think the reason may be because we have organic material that is in the middle of the decomposition process and the products are dissolving in the water that we add. This water eventually makes it to the aquarium chamber. Also, I think we've added more water than some of the other groups. My first thought was that something is wrong with ours since it is different from the others, but on second thought maybe its just different. The waterway behind my house is dark brown almost black at certain times of the year. Maybe this is the same. The decomposition chamber is the most exciting chamber. There is just so much activity! The beetles are still on the banana. A tiny slug has appeared. The plum is still decomposing. I wonder how long it takes for a plum to disappear? No fruit flies yet! the lizard is patiently awaiting some fruit flies, as is the frog. Hopefully we'll have some tomorrow.

The condensation is still visible in both the plant and animal habitat as well as the decomposition chamber. The beetles were on the banana peel moving around. I am a little concerned about the water level and color of the aquarium. After observing the other ecocolumns our aquarium water is much darker. We do have salvinia which I didn't see in any of the other aquariums. I would like to know what is causing this difference in coloration. The lizard and frog are still surviving but I am very concerned about their health without the proper diet. How long could they live in this environment and are they getting any nutrition from the habitat?