Small artificial aquarium ecosystem. How does the closed aquarium ecosystem work?

The concept of an ecosystem is usually applied to natural objects of varying complexity and size: a taiga or a small forest, an ocean or a small pond. They operate in a complex, balanced natural processes. There are also biological systems created artificially. An example is the ecosystem of the aquarium, the necessary balance in which is maintained by man.

Types of ecosystems and their features

An ecosystem is a set of living organisms of various species in a certain area of the biosphere, which are related not only to each other, but also to components of inanimate nature by the circulation of substances and the transformation of energy. It can be natural and artificial.

Natural ecosystems (forests, steppes, savannahs, lakes, seas and others) are a self-regulating structure. Artificial ecosystems (agrocenosis, aquariums and others) are created and maintained by man.

Ecosystem structure

In ecology, the ecosystem is the main functional unit. It includes non-living environment and organisms as components that mutually affect each other's properties. Its structure, regardless of species, be it an ecosystem of a natural reservoir or an aquarium ecosystem, includes the following components:

• Spatial - the placement of organisms in a particular biological system.
• Species - the number of living species and the ratio of their numbers.
• Community components: abiotic (inanimate nature) and biotic (organisms - consumers, producers and destroyers).
• The cycle of substances and energy is an important condition for the existence of an ecosystem.
• The stability of the ecosystem, depending on the number of species inhabiting it and the length of the food chains being formed.

Consider an example of one of the biological systems - the aquarium. Its artificial ecosystem includes all structural units. In an aquarium of a certain size (spatial location), a living component of the system (fish, plants, microorganisms) lives. Its components are also water, soil, driftwood. Aquarium - a closed ecosystem, so for its inhabitants artificially created conditions close to natural. For which illumination is used, since nothing living can develop fully and live without light; Thermoregulation - to maintain a constant temperature level; Aeration and filtration - for the supply of oxygen in water and its constant purification.

Differences of ecosystems

At first glance it may seem that the aquarium ecosystem is not much different from the natural reservoir. After all, the aquarium itself is a kind of a small copy of a closed reservoir intended for keeping and breeding fish and plants. Life in it proceeds according to similar biological processes. Only an aquarium is a small artificial ecosystem. In it, the degree of exposure to abiotic components (temperature, light, water hardness , pH , etc.) on biotic components is balanced by a person. He also supports in the aquarium all the necessary vital activity, the duration of which largely depends on the experience of the aquarist, his ability to control the balance of the environment. However, even with proper care, it periodically falls into decay, and the person has to patiently arrange it anew in a roomy pond. Why is this happening?

Causal factors

Ecosystem of an aquarium depends on the age of its aquatic environment. It goes through the stages of becoming, youth, maturity and degradation. Violations of the equilibrium in the ecosystem are tolerated by few plants, and the fish stop multiplying.

An important role is played by the size of the aquarium. The life span of the medium directly depends on its volume. It is like an ecosystem in nature. It is known that the greater the volume of the reservoir, the greater its resistance to violations of the necessary equilibrium. In an aquarium of up to 200 liters, it is not difficult to form a habitat that is close to natural, but it is much more difficult to disturb the balance in its inept actions.

Aquariums with a small capacity of up to 30-40 liters require regular water changes. Within a reasonable range, its 1 / 3-1 / 5 shift may shake the equilibrium stability, but the environment recovers in a couple of days on its own, but in the case of replacing all the water, it is easy to break the steady balance.

The aquarist should know that, having formed an ecosystem, it is necessary to maintain a balance in it with minimal intervention.

Model of ecological system

The aquarium is a small artificial ecosystem, the structure of which differs little from the natural one. The components of the ecosystem are the biotope and biocenosis. In the aquarium, inorganic nature (biotope) is water, soil, and their properties. It also includes the volume of the water environment, its mobility, temperature, illumination and other parameters. The necessary properties of the habitat are created and maintained by man. He feeds the inhabitants of the aquarium, takes care of the cleanliness of soil and water. This only creates an ecosystem model. In nature it is closed and independent.

Abiotic factors

The natural totality is distinguished by much deeper interrelations and interdependencies. In a domestic water body, they are regulated by man. Conditionally, and in a domestic pond all living organisms are called aquarium biocenosis. They occupy certain ecological niches in it, creating a harmony of habitats. Favorable conditions for life activity create for them taking into account abiotic factors - appropriate temperature, lighting and water movement.

The temperature regime depends on the inhabitants of the aquarium. Since even minor changes in it can lead to the death of some fish species, it is recommended to use heaters with a built-in thermostat.

The lighting mode is necessary for normal functioning of all components of the aquarium environment. Light sources are usually placed above the water surface. The length of a day of light must correspond to the photoperiod of the inhabitants in their natural conditions of life.

In nature, standing water is more mobile due to the impact of rain, wind and other disturbances. The aquarium requires constant water circulation. It is achieved by aeration or running water through a filter.

Constant circulation ensures vertical rotation of water in the aquarium. It also equalizes the acidity index, prevents rapid reduction of the redox potential in the bottom layers.

Organic and inorganic compounds

Water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, amino acids, nitrogen and phosphoric salts, humic acids are the basic organic and inorganic compounds, which also belong to abiotic elements. Most of them are in the aquarium organisms themselves and in the bottom sediments.

The rate of transfer of these nutrients into the aqueous solution is ensured as a result of the functioning of the producers and decomposers of the ecosystem. Organic nitrogen-containing emissions utilize bacteria, turning them into simpler substances necessary for assimilation by plants. Organic compounds are converted into mineral (inorganic) form also due to different types of bacteria.
These critical processes depend on the temperature regime of the water, its acidity index, oxygen saturation. They regulate the normal functioning of the ecosystem.

When creating a closed aquarium ecosystem it is important to know that it is ready to receive its inhabitants, but it is not completely balanced, since many important types of bacteria stabilize within two weeks.

Sustainability of the ecosystem and the cycle of substances in the aquarium

The inhabitants of the aquarium can not provide a complete cycle of substances. It reveals a break in the chain between consumers and producers. This is facilitated by the closed ecosystem of the aquarium. Shrimp, shellfish, crustaceans (consumers) eat plants (producers), but no one feeds on the consumers themselves. The chain is interrupted. At the same time, another chain feeding fish - bloodworms and other food - is maintained by man artificially.

Create conditions for keeping the necessary quantity of daphnia and cyclops in the aquarium in order to feed the fish is quite difficult. Since these small crustaceans, in turn, also need food. The life of protozoa depends on the presence of organic substances in the aquarium. The number of infusorians should exceed the number of crustaceans, the latter, in turn, should be contained in a larger ratio to fish. Such a balance in food chains is difficult to achieve in such spatial conditions as a closed aquarium. Its ecosystem does not support the support of quantitative indicators of environmental factors at certain levels.

In natural ecosystems, each species is balanced by its relation to other species. Each of them occupies its own niche, determines the interdependence of species. The proportions of predators and their victims in the development of the ecosystem are strictly balanced. Such balancing is not achieved in such a closed space, as an aquarium. An artificial ecosystem requires a competent selection of its inhabitants. Ecological niches of fish, plants should be interfaced, but not superimposed one on another. They are selected so that their vital needs and the so-called "professions" (consumers, producers and destroyers) are not at the expense of others.

The balanced selection of inhabitants for their "professional" purpose in the model of the aquarium ecosystem is the most important condition for its long-term health.

"Address" of the inhabitants of the aquarium

The habitat in the reservoir of each species is also of considerable importance. All of them must find a suitable shelter. You can not oversaturate the aquarium, so as not to degrade other species. Thus, floating plants, expanding, block the light of the growing algae, the lack of shelters on the bottom and habitats for bottom fish species lead to skirmishes and the death of weaker individuals.

It is also important to remember that all animals and plants are continuously changing, which, accordingly, can not but affect their environment. It is necessary to monitor the behavior of fish, do not overfeed them, take care of plants, cut off their decayed areas, monitor the cleanliness of the soil.

To maintain the stability of the ecosystem in the aquarium, it is necessary to think about any attempts at intervention - it will not hurt the balance.