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Three groups of organisms that have relationships with each other are mites, protozoa and bacteria. Research shows that mites like damp places and are scavengers in the environment. They feed on bacteria as their main food source. The relationship between bacteria and mites led us to what we would research later on in this ESSRE project. Bacteria, like mites and protozoa, have a huge job in the environment. Without bacteria recycling chemical elements and compounds and decomposing various nutrients throughout the environment, the ecosystem would collapse. In addition, protozoa also have a major role in the environment by eating various plants and creatures and also help to improve the environment. These tiny cells perform the major jobs of controlling bacteria populations and releasing nitrogen by plants.
After the E.S.S.R.E. 2008 Biota Survey (2008), we began to look more in-depth about the relationship between protozoa and bacteria. Our group found it interesting that the amount of protozoa did not increase when the amount of bacteria decreased. We hypothesized that the increased amount of mites in the area where the amount of bacteria decreased was because the mites feeding on the bacteria as their source of food. By performing this experiment, our group will hopefully discover the cause of the weird levels of bacteria and protozoa in the environment.