Fifth Observation 11/12/13

I saw a lot of activity this observation. The small movement that had gone away last time was definitely back. Everywhere I looked there was movement. I also saw a lot of large organisms. I saw two adult cyclops and got a picture of one (Lee Fig. 1 p. 411)

They were both near where the food pellet was. They. were also very fast moving. As one can see, they were brown with rounded bodies, two antennae, and had a tail that split at the end. I also saw three Entosiphon sulcatoms (Pennak fig. 30 p. 530).

It has a rounded body that comes to a point at the anterior and posterior. It also has two flagella. One is in the front and the other drags behind. They were all near the flowering plant. They moved at a slow to medium pace. In this picture, one can see an inside structure that is a tube with a flap like opening. Its the white space in between the green areas.
I did not see the annelid or rotifer this time. I did not see their corpses though. I saw what I think may be a different type of annelid. It was a lot shorter than the other one. It was also very clear, however, it was by the mud like the other one was.

Fourth Observation 11/6/13

This week, I saw a huge reduction in the tiny microorganisms and an increase in larger organisms. This is because the larger organisms are consuming the smaller organisms and the plants. The flowering plant had a total of three leaves left, but the moss plant looks like it is doing very well. The dead plant cells have an oval, rectangular shape and are clear. I saw the Euchlanis rotifer again. Instead of eating near the mud, it was swimming about this time. I also saw a large organism that had encased itself in a spore stage. It was in an oval shape and was colored white with pink speckles. It was moving very slowly, which drew me eye to the organism initially. I saw the annelid again. This time it was not hiding behind the moss plant, but it was near the mud eating a leaf so I was able to capture an image ( Pennik Fig. 9 p 299). it turned out to be an Aelosome annelid. It was long, brown, and looked like a small worm.
 

Observation 3 10/28/13

 There were very many small organisms that I could not make out using the highest magnification of the microscope. They were incredibly hyper and I believe that is due to the added food pellet. There were quite a few dead organisms at the top of the mud. There was a dead insect larva. It was long and cylinder-shaped with spindle legs. It was also brown. I saw a dead adult cyclops, too. Its body was completely see through. There was annelid in the moss plant. It had a very long body and moved in ripples. The flowering plant had less foliage. I saw two Euchlanis rotifers (Pennak p 171 Fig 2). It has a rounded body with a tail and they were both eating moss.  I also saw a Euplote (Pennak p 124 Fig. 261). It has a mechanism for taking in food that looks like continuous bubbles. It was near the mud. It is a freshwater living protozoa.

Bibliography

     McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [cited 10/28/13]. Available from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

     Pennak, Robert. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States. 1989. Wiley-Interscience Publication. 629.

    Lee, John J., Hunter, Seymour H., Bovee, Eugene C. An Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa. 1985. Allen Press, Inc. 628.

Second Observation 10/22/13

     There were a few differences between viewing my micro aquarium this week and the view I saw last week. I did not see the rotifer. However, I did not see it dead at the bottom of the tank either. It may have just been hiding in the mud or behind the plants. Hopefully I will find out what happened to it. There seemed to be less movement in this observation. I saw no dead organisms but they may have just been hidden in the mud. I did find some live organisms though. The majority of them were found near the mud or close to the moss plant. I saw a euglenoid, which is an organism that looks like it has little legs. I also saw  two cyclops in different developmental stages; one was an adult and the other was a juvenile. The adult one had a tail with things that looked like fins at the end and antennas. Its body was translucent and circular. It would stay incredibly still and then it would rapidly move to another location and repeat the process. The juvenile one did this too. The juvenile one resembled the adult, it just didn't have the tail or the fins. I also saw what I thought to be a diatom. It was incredibly slow moving. All of these organisms were found near the mud and closer to the moss. The flowering plant had less leaves than it did when it was first put in the aquarium. It should also be noted that water was added to everyone's aquariums. That's all for now, folks!

    On October 25, 2013 a "One" betta pellet food was added to all micro aquariums. Details include: "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%  (McFarland, 2013).

First Observation 10/15/13

     Last week, we set up our micro aquariums! First, we had to pick a water source. There were many neat options but I chose Tennessee River water from a boat ramp across from the Knoville sewer plant. We drew from three different layers of our water source: the bottom mud area, right above the mud, and the top of the water. Using a pipette, we put all these sources in a plastic rectangle that was sealed on the sides and bottom but not the top. We then got to add our choice of plants. I added Fontinalius sp. moss that was collected form Holston River along John Sevier Highway under the I 40 bridge so it was in partial shade. I also added the flowering plant Utricularia gibba L. It is a carnivorous plant. Then, it was time to look at our aquariums under the microscope. The first thing I saw was a rotifer. It had a long slender body and resembled a worm. It was eating the moss. I then saw something that looked like it could be a tadpole shrimp. Its body was rounded and it had a tail. That's all for now!