We are a group of three university students in the first year of Biotechnology
at Cadiz University(UCA). We have developed a Microbiology Project on a Winogradsky
column. We started the experimento n the third of March.
If you want to do it, it will be very easy for you to do.You only need some ingredients that you can change on your choice.
We have chosen the following components: an Aquarius bottle (It is important to use the
bottle with a wide mouth) , beach sand, mud taken from San Pedro river, sediment of a
lagoon, starch, engine oil, salt, CaCO3, CaSO4, FeSO4 and water.
All these elements have been mixed before putting them into a bottle. In our column, the
sediment represents three-quarters of the bottle and the other quarter left is the amount of
water added.
The bottle is placed next to the window, so one side of the bottle receives some light durong
the day meanwhile the other side of the bottle does not receive any light. Also, oxygen is
allowed to enter because the top of the bottle is half-opened.
Taking into account the elements we have added to the column, we think that after the
necessary period of time, halophilic bacteria (bacteria that are found in salt satured
environment), sulphate-reducing bacteria, ferrous bacteria and bacteria that degrade the
engine oil could appear.
During the first week, our mixture has experienced few changes. The most outstanding change
is the volume reduction of the sediment and the expansion of the water volumen, occupying
one third of the total volumen of the bottle. Also the color of the sediment has changed, being
a little bit darker.
The second week the bottle was moved to another place, but the same conditions as the first
bottle remained (the light on one side of the bottle, the half-oponed tap). There have not
been important changes during the second week in our Winograsky bottle.The most
outstanding ones are the darkening of the sediment and the expansion of the water
volumen like the first week.
See you soon!
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