This time-lapse video demonstrates the difference between soils with and without invertebrate decomposers.
Two additional videos and a brief article show and describe how invertebrates accelerate decomposition and why bioturbation is important for soil fertility.
Bioturbation increases nutrients for plants, aerates the soil, allows for better water infiltration, and improves biodiversity and soil quality.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The absence of narration provides an excellent opportunity for students to describe the phenomenon they observe.
The speed of the video can be adjusted to slow it down or speed it up, which may be helpful.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the concept of decomposition.
Differentiation
Since there is no audio, have students describe what they think they are observing during the first viewing of the video.
Have students draw a diagram or picture to define what they think bioturbation is after the first viewing of the video.
Students could investigate composting on their own or set up a composting bin/area as a class to more deeply understand the content.
This resource is a 2-minute time-lapse video with accompanying website that compares the impact of fauna (animals such as worms and other insects) on the biodegradation of plant matter. One chamber includes just leaf litter without insects, while another chamber includes leaf litter and insect life. A clear difference can be seen between the two chambers. Other short time-lapse videos are also included on the web page for comparison. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Science and Engineering
LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
3-LS1-1 Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
5-LS2-1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
MS-LS2-3 Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
