Observation 5

This past week was the last observation I had of my Microaquarium, which occurred on November 13.  This week was one of the most active, and I observed a large amount of organisms in my aquarium. Although most of the organisms in my aquarium I had already seen before I did notice a few interesting organisms that were new to me:

 The picture above is an Epalxis(source #3, fig. 31, pg 141). 

This Protozoa was moving quickly in one of the less-inhabited regions of the aquarium, moving around and often making 360 degree turns and then swimming a completely different direction. I presume it was feeding or looking for food. 

I had observed these slow-moving organisms before in my Aquarium, but I had not identified them until this week.  This one in particular was larger than usual. 

This Rotifer is also an organism I had seen in previous lab observations but I did not have a picture of one yet(Source 4). This Rotifer was attached to a Diatom with its "toe'', which I assume was for easy accessibility while it was feeding. 

Above is a Diatom, although I was not able to identify which specific one, it is the same type that the picture of the Rotifer above was attached to.

Above is a type of green algae, a Coleochaete(fig. 87, pg. 90, source #2). It was stationary and also very large because of all the weeks it has had to grow in my aquarium.

Another interesting organism I noticed was an Anabaena sp(source #1). There was quite an abundance of this cyanobacteria in my aquarium, which in appearance looks like long green chains which are actually different types of cells.

Besides all of the organisms I mentioned above I saw dozens of organisms that I had seen in previous lab weeks. I made some very interesting observations over the course of these last five weeks, and saw many interesting types of organisms.







1. Canter-Lund, Hilda, and John W. G. Lund. Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored. Bristol, England: Biopress, 1995. Print.

2. Forest, Herman Silva. Handbook of Algae. Knoxville: U of Tennessee, 1954. Print.

3.  Patterson, David J. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. New York: Wiley ;, 1996. Print 

4. Pennak, Robert W. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. 3rd ed. A Wiley-interscience publication. 

Observation 4

My fourth lab observation took place on November 6, 2014. During my observation I saw more mirk-organisms that I had seen in my earlier observations as well as many that I noticed for the first time.

Among these organisms that I observed for the first time included some Centropyrxis, which appeared to have been recently hatched (source 1, pg 95 fig. 189). It was near these apparently stationary organisms that I also saw Nemotoda for the first time in my aquarium. The Nemotoda was actually inside a part of the Amblestegium barium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss. Collected from Natural spring, at Carter Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox County, T.N. Partial Shade Exposure N36 01.168 W83 42.832 10/12/2014, and was curled up so that it was going different directions inside the plant parallel to itself. It was moving very slowly. It definitely appeared to be feeding and at one point its head and mouth came very close to the Centropyrxis. 

Another new organism I observed was a Tachysoma (source 1, pg. 125 figure 265).  I found this organism moving slowly in the less-crowded water of the aquarium. Dr. McFarland commented that it looks as though it might be getting ready to divide. 

                  Near the end of my observation I found a Euplotes (source 1, pg. 124, fig. 259).  This organism was moving very quickly in the water and it was somewhat difficult to take a picture of it. This organism was noticeable for the visible cilia it has that can be seen in the picture below. The cilia are used by these organisms for many different purposes but this organism in particular was using them to move with.

One final interesting observation I made was that something had apparently died in my aquarium and appeared to be decaying. There were thousands of "small flagellates" surrounding and feeding off of it, but I was not able to correctly identify what these organisms were. 

In addition to these interesting organisms I also saw several organisms that I have seen in previous observations, including Rotifera and Vorticella. 

Bibliography

1. Pennak, Robert W. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. 3rd ed. A Wiley-interscience publication. 

Observation 3

On October 24, 2014 Dr. McFarland added a beta food pellet to my micro aquarium, to increase activity in the MicroAquarium. The food pellet he added is an "Atison's Betta Food" pellet, and it is made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas which is located 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. The ingredients of the food pellet are as follows:fish meal, wheat flower, soy meal, krill meal, minerals, vitamins and preservatives. An analysis of the pellet: Crude Protein 36%, Crude Fat 4.5%, Crude Fiber 3.5%, Moisture 8%, and Ash 15%.
There were many changes to my MicroAquarium this week I noticed, mainly among them that there was increased activity in the aquarium, especially around the area where the pellet was.

One of the organisms I observed this week was a Cyclidium.  Cyclidium are protozoa that are suspension-feeding scuticociliate. One of the distinguishable characteristics of this organism includes the large vacuole in the cell, which can be seen in the image below. Cyclidium also have a transparent veil that becomes unfurled while feeding. I observed this organism somewhat close to the pellet that Dr. McFarland inserted into my MicroAquarium, and it appeared to be feeding because the veil was visible and unfurled on the organism(source 2, fig. 332).

Another organism I observed this week in lab was a Heterophrys. These organisms use their stiff arms and extrusomes to capture food, which can be observed in the picture below of the Heterophrys(source 2, fig. 332). 

In addition to these organisms I also observed a Rotifera Limnias. This organism was attached to the Amblestegium barium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss. Collected from Natural spring, at Carter Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox County, T.N. Partial Shade Exposure N36 01.168 W83 42.832 10/12/2014.  This organism was also feeding. Several times it would disappear and then reappear from its tube after consuming whatever food sources it could pull in with its dorsal antenna(source 1, figure J, pg. 218). 

Vorticella were other organisms I observed this week. I found many of these bell-shaped organisms around the area where most of the soil was in my MicroAquarium. This particular one was attached to part of the soil by its stalk and was spinning around, apparently feeding(source 1).

Overall, I noticed there was a great deal more activity in the aquarium this week than last week, which I would assume is due in large part to the food pellet that was added. I will be interested to see if there is even more activity in the aquarium next week. 

Bibliography


1. Pennak, Robert W. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. 3rd ed. A Wiley-interscience publication.


2. Patterson, David J. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. New York: Wiley ;, 1996. Print       

Observation 2

                My first observation of my MicroAquarium under the microscope took place on October 23. After retrieving my MicroAquarium from the bin assigned to my lab section, I placed my MicroAquarium under the microscope and was able to observe many different types of organisms with the assistance of Dr. McFarland and the book Guide to Microlife, from which I obtained many of the scientific facts below.

                  There were numerous examples of microscopic life in my aquarium, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic. One protist I observed in my MicroAquarium was Gamophyta Zygnema algae, a freshwater green algae that is structured into long threads. They are important for their vegetative reproduction function, and according to my observation they appeared to be stationary organisms.

                    Some Eukaryotic organisms that I observed included Euchlanis Rotifers. This interesting organism was transparent in appearance and whose most distinguishable features include two large toes for swimming a structure known as a corona on the head that helps the organisms to grind up their food. When I observed the Euchlanis Rotifer, it was in a great deal of motion, spinning around in the area where the Amblestegium barium was located. It appeared to be alternating between feeding and spinning around looking for food. 

                           One of the most interesting organisms that I observed in my time in the lab on October 23 was an Ostracod, commonly known as a seed shrimp because of their resemblance to small seeds. The seed shrimp that I observed happened to be a muddy white color, and like many of the organisms in my MicroAquarium was feeding. I found this organism the area of my Aquarium where most of the soil was located. 

                        Some interesting observations that I also made were observing non-living organisms as well. For instance, in one of the more open areas of the water I saw the carcass of a crustacean. It is interesting that these dead organisms are still serving a purpose by serving as food for some of the living organisms in my MicroAquarium. 


Bibliography

Rainis, Kenneth G., and Bruce J. Russell. A Guide to Microlife. New York: Franklin Watts, 1996. Print.

Observation 1

Setting up my MicroAquarium

               The first step of setting up my MicroAquarium was obtaining two thick glass slides which formed a mini tank, a stand and a lid. I also took three circular colored stickers to use to code my Aquarium so I can recognize that it is mine. The sticker in the upper left hand corner is light blue for lab section 004. The second sticker below the first one is also light blue for table number one. The final sticker at the bottom is yellow for my seat. I then wrote my initials on the stickers for safety. 

                I then chose a water source for my MicroAquarium. For my MicroAquarium I chose Fountain City Duck Pond as my source. Fountain City Duck Pound is located west of Broadway at Cedar Lane, Knox County Knoxville, TN. This pond has full sun exposure. Spring Feed Pond coordinates N36 02.087 W83 55.967 963 feet. 10/12/2014. 

                I then extracted a small amount of soil from the container holding my water source, and then proceeded to fill up my MicroAquarium with the water source until the tank was around 1/3 of the way full. After this I added two plants to my MicroAquarium with a pair of tweezers. The first plant I added was Amblestegium barium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss. Collected from Natural spring, at Carter Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox County, T.N. Partial Shade Exposure N36 01.168 W83 42.832 10/12/2014. The second plant that I added was Utricularia gibba L. Flowering Plant. A carnivorous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35'' W088o20' 47.00), Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta TN, in White Co. and grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville, TN. 10/12/2014.

                        After doing this and then sealing the lid on my MicroAquarium, I put my aquarium under the lab microscope for observation. I observed quite a bit of activity and life around the soil and plant areas of the MicroAquarium. I observed some stationary single celled organisms that had circular and rectangular shapes. In the soil I also observed a long and darker colored organism that had a worm-like shape that appeared to be eating perhaps. I also saw many smaller and lighter colored worm-shaped organisms that were moving around throughout the tank. What kinds of organisms these are and their names will hopefully become clear with further observation and research in the lab.