Super Science - (2) Daphnia Respond To Their Ecosystem

One of our Second Year (Y8) classes recently became proud parents following the success of an ecosystem it had established.

As part of the Y8 Junior Science curriculum, pupils make their own pond ecosystem and, this year, 2BGW was so successful that its daphnia were so happy in their watery habitat that they reproduced! For those new to daphnia, they are more usually known as water fleas and are one of the most common crustaceans to be found in lakes, ponds and quiet streams. These tiny animals are usually less than 3mm in size, so you could put dozens of them on a single fingernail.

Under the guidance of Mr Bagga (Chemistry) and Mr Burns (Assistant Head), the pupils worked in groups to make a sandy bed in an old coffee jar. They then added a few stones, water plants, pond water and finally a few water fleas before replacing the top of the jar. This closed ecosystem, a biological community of interacting organisms, was left over half term. After this week, the green plants had photosynthesised while the daphnia were so happy in their physical environment that they reproduced. 

Miss Holyman, Junior Science coordinator, commented: “The daphnia eggs were difficult to see at first, but were spotted with the help of a hand lens and a desk lamp; in fact the keen eyes of our Second year pupils found immature and mature daphnia. It was wonderful to see the excitement of the class as it realised how successful its ecosystems had been. Please note all of the ecosystems have now been emptied into the Biology pond, and, naturally, no animals were harmed in this experiment.”

Photography submitted by Miss Holyman.