Time Lapse of Freshwater Mussels in a 2.5 Gallon Tank of River Water for a One-hour Period

This video features a time lapse of four freshwater mussels in a 2.5 gallon tank of cloudy river water for a one-hour period. Notice that the cloudy water changes to almost completely clear water. The mussel is able to take matter and, through chemical reactions, utilize it as energy for growth and development of the mussel. The cycling of matter repeats itself among non-living and living parts of the ecosystem.

• Why is the water getting clearer?

• What are the main roles needed for ecosystems to function properly (producer, consumer, decomposer)?
• How does the matter in the mussels' ecosystem cycle between the living and non-living things?

Students could:

• Discuss how organisms interact with their environment.
• Brainstorm the impacts of an organism being removed from an ecosystem.
• Research and define (in own words) producer, consumer, and decomposer.
• Identify the living and non-living parts of an ecosystem.
• Create, revise, and present a model to simulate the cycling of matter between the living and non-living things in an ecosystem of choice. Specifically indicate where energy is transferred into and out of the system.

• PBS LearningMedia | Iowa Land and Sky: The Importance of Freshwater Mussels:  This clip provides students with a general background on freshwater mussels. 
• The Sierra Club (Iowa Chapter) | Our Mussels Need Clean Water:  This document provides freshwater mussel information including their habits as filter feeders, mussel food sources, and reproduction.
• Sciencing | What Eats Mussels?: Sciencing provides information about the mussels' place in itsecosystem.