Final Observation

 

 

   This was the last time observing the micro-aquarium. The water level was low again so I added more distilled water. I placed the aquarium under the microscope and began observing. The aquarium compared to the beginning of the project was teeming with life. There were various organisms everywhere, ones that had been previously identified and a few new ones. The amount of dead organisms floating in the open water above the plants was also surprising. Various pieces of Diatoms could be found throughout the aquarium, as well as other pieces of organic matter, some dead and some alive. The plants seem to be growing well, an the Lindberg sp. moss, (Mcfarland, 2013) has acquired new growth near the tips and seems to be establishing itself well.

   I noticed an organism that I had not seen before, it was amoeba shaped with two flagella at the end of it's body. It moved about at a steady pace and made flipping motions like a coin sinking underwater, in random directions. Professor McFarland identified it as Euchlanis Rotifer sp. (Patterson, 1996).

   I also noticed another organism with two flagellated disk like appendages at the end of it's body. The disks seemed to be spinning rapidly and cycled water and small pieces of organic matter into the organism. This appeared to be a way of catching food. McFarland identified the organism as Philodina Rotifer sp. (Patterson, 1996). I have a picture of this organism earlier in the blog posts.

 

  Overall, the aquarium has changed drastically over the course of a month. The amount of heterotrophic and autotrophic life has increased dramatically. It truly looks like a mini world within itself, and everything is in there for it to function as an independent ecosystem. The aquarium seems stable, and the water sample used definitely contained a wide array of life forms.

November 7th, 4th Observation

This was my fourth time viewing the micro-aquarium. As I took it apart, I noticed the water level had dropped about a third, so I filled it up with filtered water provided by Professor McFarland.
I put it under the microscope and began looking around. I immediately noticed an increase in the amount of organisms from the previous observations. Not only were there a multitude of live organisms but there were also many dead ones scattered throughout the water. One of these organisms was identified as a seed shrimp by Professor McFarland, (Patterson, 1996).



This is a picture of the Seed Shrimp identified by Professor McFarland.

 I also noticed a dead organism that turned out to be the carcus of a Seed Shrimp, here is a picture of it located to the right.

I also noticed more of the Vorticella I talked about in the previous post. They seem to be much more numerous and could be located on almost every plant surface.

As I was observing I noticed an organism with two spinning disks that seemed to filter the water and tiny microbes with it. It was identified as Philodina rotifer sp. by Professor McFarland, (Patterson, 1996).

On the picture to the right is a diatom that was roaming around slowly, notice around it the numerous dead organisms and cellular components.

 

The aquarium is truly thriving and I am interested to see what organisms I will encounter next time.

 I went to observe the micro-aquarium, and the water level had dropped roughly 1/3, so I filled it back up and placed it under the microscope. There was much more activity this time, with lots of invertebrates I had not yet seen. The most abundant of these organisms was a small round-shaped single-cellular organism, with fast moving characteristics. They could be observed eating various dead organic matter and organisms throughout the aquarium, and in some spots they seemed to congregate and swirl around. These were identified as Colpidium sp. by Prof. McFarland, (Patterson, 1996). I was looking among the leaves and stems of the Lindberg Moss, and I observed these cup shaped things on stalks that somewhat resembled a fungus or coral. These were identified as Vorticella sp. by McFarland, (Patterson, 1996). Here is a picture -

  Last week I mentioned an organism with two flagella that moved around in a steady slow manner, this was identified as Euchlanis sp. by McFarland, (Patterson, 1996). Here is a picture of the organism -

 



There were also some diatoms that could be seen slowly meandering around the water space above the plants, were a lot of the Colpidium sp. could be observed as well. The diatom was thin and somewhat football shaped, but a lot thinner, it had green pigment in the middle which could of been chlorophyll, here is a picture of the organism, which was identified as Pinnularia sp. by McFarland, (Patterson, 1996).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography:

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

 Raven, Peter H., Ray Franklin. Evert, and Susan E. Eichhorn. Biology of Plants. New York: W.H. Freeman and, 2013. Print.

  Patterson, D. J. 1996. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa, A Colour Guide. 5th impression. 2013. Manson Publishing.

2nd Observation: Thursday, October 24
 This was the second time observing the micro-aquarium. I placed it under the microscope, and the water level seemed to have remained the same within the week. I began observing and looking for larvae like creature I had observed last week, but I was not able to find it. I did however, observe an organism with a small elliptical body, multicellular, with two flagella protruding from what seemed to be the head of the organism. It moved in a steady somewhat slow motion, without whipping or darting characteristics. It seemed to swim close to the Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss as if it was taking cover or looking for food. This organism was identified by Professor McFarland as Cyclops sp. (McFarland, 2013). The Amblestegium varium had a stringy fibrous looking brown plant matter growing on it that was not observed last time. Further question as to what this could be. The sediment layer in the bottom was observed, and fast moving round organisms with a single whipping flagella and small appendages that resembled a crab were observed but unidentified, but most certainly heterotrophic and multicellular, maybe belonging to the diatoms. A number of rod-like chloroplast containing tubules were observed growing in various locations amongst the aquarium, these tubules were immobile and seemed to grow from the tip like a stem, they were unidentified but will be during the next observation. Dead organisms could be found throughout the aquarium, some single, and some multicellular. One organism was being eaten from the inside by single-celled organisms, identified as Amoeba sp. (McFarland, 2013). The plants seem to be growing well and are stable in their new environment.
A food pellet was added my Professor McFarland,  "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%.

Micro Aquarium was set up on Tuesday, October 15
The pieces for the aquarium were obtained and fitted together, and labeled according to class and section. Water Source #11, the city duck pond, located West of Broadway at Cedar Lane. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Full sun exposure. Spring Feed Pond N36 02.087 W83 55.967 963 ft 10/13/2013, was used for my Micro-Aquarium. A pipette was obtained and sediment was collected and added to the bottom of the micro-aquarium from the duck pond, then water from the middle of the sample and some from the top. A sample of Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss, Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/13/2013 (McFarland, 2013), was added to the Aquarium, as well as a sample of 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. 10/13/2013 (McFarland, 2013). The aquarium was fitted closed, then placed under a microscope for observation. Small fast moving round objects with flagella were identified as mud shrimp, and a larvae with anthropod characteristics was also observed. The larvae seemed to be eating stuff off the Hedwig plant.

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. (October 22, 2013)