Observation 5

This week the amount of water in the aquarium has been drastically reduced. Nothing has been spilled. I noticed that everyone else’s water levels were also reduced in volume. The plants seemed to be thriving. There was an increase in the mass of plant material. There was moss growing in the aquarium. Its rhizoids were visible. There also seemed to be a significant decrease in the number of organisms living in the aquarium. The only types of organisms that were observed were multiple Rotifers and two Turbellaria. Neither the Rotifers were feeding where as the Turbellaria were not. The food pellet had been either dissolved or completely consumed.

Observation 4

There were many more rotifers and other organisms than was previously observed. It seems as if the organisms have been eating away at the food pellet that was inserted the pervious week. It was also observed that there were multiple diatoms which were living in the Micro-Aquarium (Rainis, 1918).

Citation:

Rainis KG, Russell BJ. 1996. Guide to Microlife. 1st ed. Danbury (CT): Grolier Publishing. p.79.

Observation 3

On Friday October 22, 2010 "ONE" Beta Food Pellet was inserted into each microaquarium. The following information pertains to the food that was added:


Atison's Betta Food" made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas, 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. Ingredients: Fish meal, wheat flower, soy meal, krill meal, minerals, vitamins and preservatives. Analysis: Crude Protein 36%; Crude fat 4.5%; Crude Fiber 3.5%; Moisture 8% and Ash 15%.


On October 26, 2010 two organisms were identified. One was an Aeolosoma (Pennak, 1989).  A Turbellaria was also identified and is commonly known as a flatworm (Pennak, 1989). Both of these organisms were seen amongst the food pellet that was added beforehand. The pictures are posted below.  


There also seemed to be more organisms living in the water than there was at the first observation. 

Pennak RW. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. 3rd ed. (NY): John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p. 124-299. 

Observation 2

Doctor Ken McFarland who works at the University of Tennessee helped me to identify the following organisms (Dr. Kenneth McFarland, personal communications): 
Seed Shrimp
Euglena
Nematode
Paramecium
Litonotus


The paramecium was found within the plant material. The nematode, seed shrimp, and euglena are very quick at moving. They were all seen with a 4X objective. The litonotus was seen with a 10X objective. It could stretch part of its body to be about 7x its body length (Dr. Kenneth McFarland, personal communications). 


I also found and identified:
Cyclops
Vorticella
Rotifer

The cyclops is a crustacean and has two antennae-like structures coming from its head. It is tear drop in shape with two thin flagella. Vorticella look like small bathroom plungers. I took at picture of them in a small grouping (Rainis,1996). Also, I took a picture of a rotifer (Rainis, 1996). They appear to have a mouth and a foot. The ones I saw were about as round as they were long. Take note of the pictures below. The first is a rotifer and the second is of vorticellas. 

Rainis KG, Russell BJ. Guide to Microlife. 1st ed. Danbury (CT): Grolier Publishing; 1996. 104-204.

Citation: 

First Lab Observation

We set up the micro aquarium by first obtaining two (approximately 5x8) glass pieces which were a few millimeters apart. They were glued together on all but on side, allowing water to enter the aquarium. Next three colored dots were placed on the upper left hand corner of the aquarium (running in vertical fashion) indicating specific group, table, and seat numbers. This is a way to identify which aquarium belongs to what person. After selecting which water source I wanted, I suctioned a sample of water and soil from water source 2 using a pipet and released it into the aquarium. I added a small level of soil to the aquarium and filled the aquarium 2/3 of the way full. I left about 2 centimeters of space unfilled to allow me to add two different plants (A and B). I placed plant A on the right side of the aquarium and plant B on the left. After the plants were added, I added more water from source 2 so that I had only 1 centimeter or air space. I then added a clay like substance to lid which will be placed on the top (the opening) of the aquarium. The clay acts as a glue to hold the lid in place. Finally there was a stand given to me in order to allow the aquarium to stand upright. Both the lid and the stand were made of the same material as the aquarium.


The source of my water came from the French Broad River: Further information is provided below to serve as a reference:
French Broad River Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Lane , Knox Co. Tennessee. Partial shade exposure French Broad River Water Shed N35 56.742 W83 41.628 841 ft 10/10/2010


Plant A’s identifying information is provided below:
Fontinalis sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/10/2010


Plant B’s identifying information is provided below:
Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivous 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. 


I  observed the aquarium first with the 4x objective on the microscope. Today I saw a nematode. It looked like a worm and moved at a rapid pace. I also saw what is called a vorticella. The nematode was noticeably longer than the vorticella. The vorticella looks like a bell with a long handle. It also has cilia. In addition to these organisms I noticed extremely small organisms which could barely be seen with the 4x objective. These were extremely fast and hard to locate using the 10x objective. I am unsure of its name. Lastly I noticed an organism which was about the same size as the vorticella. It looked like a fat inchworm. 


Citation:
Botany 111 2010. "An inquiry into the dynamic microorganisms in our environment.”Last modified October 4, 2010.
http://botany1112010.blogspot.com/.