Observing my MicroAquariumTM (11/12/2013)

On Tuesday, 12th November 2013, we made final observations of our MicroAquariums. In my Aqaurium, there were a few changes, as well as some newly observed organisms.

To address the general observations first, there is a lot more movement in the MicroAquarium than ever before. On the Utricularia gibba flowering plant, there were many small clear organisms either crawling on it or swimming in its vicinity which I could not identify. Though most of them were by that plant, a few were also by the Fontalis sp. moss. However, by the moss there were many diatoms gliding through the water. When I told Dr. McFarland this, he suggested that the diatoms were initially on the moss.

Now to go on to the specific observations I want to address.

First, there was a diatom I had not observed before. There were many of them localized in a region by the moss, some seeming larger than others. After looking through many sources with the assistance of Dr. McFarland (who recognized it),we found it.

This is an image of an Amphora ovalis (Weber 1971, Fig. 89).

 

 

 After discovering this organism, I found another previously unobserved organism. I thought this green alga was very pretty.

This is an image of a Pediastrum sp. (Forest 1954, Fig. 110)

 

 

The final observation (and most exciting in my opinion) I wanted to note in this post is that I discovered the silica skeleton of the diatom Surirella sp. that I saw the likes of in my previous post (Canter-Lund and Lund 1995, Fig. 224). There was a green organism residing within it, which may have been consuming its remains or taking shelter. This was particularly interesting to observe, as we learned about the diatomaceous deposits that are collected and marketed as diatomaceous earth for a variety of uses, including water filtration.

 

 

Bibliography:

 

 

Canter-Lund H and Lund JWG. 1995. Freshwater Algae. 1st ed. Bristol (England): Biopress Ltd. 360p.

Forest HS. 1954. Handbook of Algae. 1st ed. Knoxville (TN): The University of Tennessee Press. 467p.

 

Weber CI. Guide to the Common Diatoms at Water Pollution Surveillance System Stations. 1st ed. Cincinnati (OH): U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Research Center Analytical Quality Control Liboratory. 107p. 

 

Observing my MicroAquariumTM (11/05/2013)

I observed my MicroAquarium on the 5th of November, 2013.  The first observation was that the food pellet mentioned in my last post was no longer there. I think it had dissolved, and was perhaps consumed by microorganisms. However, the many observations I made under the microscope that Tuesday where particularly interesting.

There was several changes in my MicroAquarium. First, an organism that had been hiding at the soil level had finally emerged, which allowed me to identify it.

This is an image of a Surirella sp. (Canter-Lund and Lund 1995, Fig. 224)

 

Also, there were some newly observed organisms.

This is an image of an Amoeba sp. (Patterson 2003, Fig. 195)

This is an image of an Anabaena sp. (Canter-Lund and Lund 1995, Fig. 401)

 

 

This is an image of a Dicranophorus sp. (id)

This is an image of the diatom Pleurotaenium sp. (Forest 1954, Fig. 335)

This is an image of a Scenedesmus sp. (Forest 1954, Fig. 183)

A very exciting observation I made was with another newly observed species.

                                         
    The images above show the Lacrymaria sp. with its 'neck' extended (left) and contracted (right).
                                                                    (Patterson 2003, Fig. 301)


As shown above, it can extend and constrict its 'neck', with its 'mouth' at the end eating. When it moved, its extended neck seemed to pull the rest of its body behind.

I had made more observation on November 5th. Two previously observed organisms (one of which I could not identify before) had grown larger. First, there is the (presumably) lone Cyclops.

A photograph I was finally able to take after searching for the Eucyclops sp. for what felt like an hour (Thorp and Covich 2010, fig. 21.1 F).

 

 

Then there is the Dicranophorus sp., an organism that was perhaps a two-thirds the size displayed above when I first saw it (Plewka 2006).

Now for my most exhilarating observation, an organism I was quite familiar (and is now numerous in my MicroAquarium) was caught by what resembled a predacious fungus we learned about in lab.

 I thought the Aelosoma sp. would not escape, however it manage to wriggle its was out of the fungus's clutch (Pennak 1953, Fig. 175).

 

 

Another organism I identified but did not capture an image of was a Spirogyra sp. (Canter-Lund and Lund 1995, Fig. 82).

 

Bibliography:

 

Canter-Lund H and Lund JWG. 1995. Freshwater Algae. 1st ed. Bristol (England): Biopress Ltd. 360p.

 

Forest HS. 1954. Handbook of Algae. 1st ed. Knoxville (TN): The University of Tennessee Press. 467p.

 

Patterson DJ. 2003. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. 1st ed. Washington DC: ASM Press. 223p.

 

Pennak RW. 1953. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. 1st ed. New York (NY): The Ronald Press Company. 769p.

Plewka M. 2006.Wolf-Rädertier (Dicranophorus forcipatus) [internet]. Stefansbachtal Gevelsberg, Grünes Klassenzimmer,Teich: Plingfactory;[9th April 2006; 11th Nov. 2013]. Available from: http://www.plingfactory.de/Science/Atlas/KennkartenTiere/Rotifers/source/Dicranophorus%20forcipatus.html

Thorp JH, Covich AP, editors. 2010. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. 3rd ed. San Diego (CA): Academic Press. 1021p.



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

Canter-Lund H and Lund JWG. 1995. Freshwater Algae. 1st ed. Bristol (England): Biopress Ltd. 360p.

Forest HS. 1954. Handbook of Algae. 1st ed. Knoxville (TN): The University of Tennessee Press. 467p.

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [cited October 22nd 2013]. Available from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

Olsen L-H, Pedersen BV, Sunesen J. 2001. Small Freshwater Creatures. 1st ed. USA: Oxford University Press. 229p.

Patterson DJ. 2003. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. 1st ed. Washington DC: ASM Press. 223p.

Pennak RW. 1953. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. 1st ed. New York (NY): The Ronald Press Company. 769p.

Plewka M. 2006.Wolf-Rädertier (Dicranophorus forcipatus) [internet]. Stefansbachtal Gevelsberg, Grünes Klassenzimmer,Teich: Plingfactory;[9th April 2006; 11th Nov. 2013]. Available from: http://www.plingfactory.de/Science/Atlas/KennkartenTiere/Rotifers/source/Dicranophorus%20forcipatus.html

Thorp JH, Covich AP, editors. 2010. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. 3rd ed. San Diego (CA): Academic Press. 1021p.

Weber CI. Guide to the Common Diatoms at Water Pollution Surveillance System Stations. 1st ed. Cincinnati (OH): U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Research Center Analytical Quality Control Liboratory. 107p.

Observing My MicroAquariumTM (10/ 29/ 2013)

Observing my MicroAquarium this week (on Tuesday, 29th October) was very exciting. There was a lot more dynamic life-forms in it, which is probably the result of the addition of a Beta Food Pellet to the MicroAquarium.

One Beta Food Pellet was added to every MicroAquarium on Friday, 25th October. The food pellet is an " "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).

Before looking at it under a light microscope, I noticed that some fungi had 'sprouted' from it, forming what resembled a disk around it since the stalks were so thin I could hardly see them. However, when I looked at it under the microscope, I saw that there were see-through worm-like organisms living on (and feeding off of) it.

Figure 1.

This is an image of an annelid, Aeolosoma sp. (Pennak 1953, Fig. 175).

Another observation I made before viewing the MicroAquarium under a microscope was that there was a tiny organism swimming across the entire MicroAquarium very quickly. This organism did not seem to like the bright light coming in from the microscope; however once I did finally find it in my field of view, it stopped swimming for a while, then continued to swim erratically across the MicroAquarium. With enough observations, I identified the Cyclops as a Eucyclops sp. (Thorp and Covich 2010, fig. 21.1 F).

On the Fontalis sp. moss, I found a very strange organism that I haven't seen before. However, it reminded me of the organism I described in my first blog entry which had small 'fingers' clawing about. The organism I observed on 10/ 29 had what looked like round spinning saw heads, and stuck out of a tube. I went through the textbooks and managed to identify it. I also took an image.

Figure 2.

This is an image of a Rotaria, Limnias sp. (Pennak 1953, Fig. 128 H and J).

I also found an organism feeding on the moss's leaves. It was exciting to watch, as it was a segmented, see through tubular organism that had a long gut, which I could see the food being swallowed into (making it fill up)! Dr. McFarland stated that it was a midge, and it resembled the picture of a midge on one of the posters in the room, however I did not identify the species yet.


Bibliography:

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [cited October 22nd 2013]. Available from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

Pennak RW. 1953. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. 1st ed. New York (NY): The Ronald Press Company. 769p.

Thorp JH, Covich AP, editors. 2010. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. 3rd ed. San Diego (CA): Academic Press. 1021p.

Observing my MicroAquariumTM (10/22/2013)

On Tuesday October 22nd 2013, I went to make some observations, hoping to find some differences in the life forms inside my MicroAqaurium since Tuesday October 15th 2013, and indeed, there were some.

The MicroAquarium contained many more motile micro-orginasims, which was exciting to observe. I only made observations near the soil-level of the MicroAquarium.

Near the Utricularia gibba  L., the flowering plant, there were many see-through, ovular organisms swimming about. I did not manage to identify them yet, however I am sure with more research, I may be able to.
Also, there were also long, clear, worm-like organisms of different sizes that were swimming near that plant at the soil level, which I identified as Nematoda (Pennak, 1953).

Meanwhile, there were other long, transparent organisms near the Fontinalis sp., moss that I identified as Rotaria sp. (Olsen, Sunesen and Pedersen, 2001).
There were also brown, ovular organisms that I could not identify yet, but again, with more research I hope to do so.

It is noteworthy that there were no organisms swimming in the clear space between the moss and the plant. Also, there did not seem to be any organisms beneath the soil, or on either edge of the MicroAquarium.


Bibliography:

Pennak RW. 1953. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. 1st ed. New York (NY): The Ronald Press Company. 769p.

Olsen L-H, Pedersen BV, Sunesen J. 2001. Small Freshwater Creatures. 1st ed. USA: Oxford University Press. 229p.

Setting up my MicroAquariumTM and a few Observations

In this post, I will be describing how I set up my MicroAquarium and some observations I made with a light microscope.

On Tuesday 15th October 2013, our Botany 111 lab section went to prepare MicroAquariums.
To prepare a MicroAquarium, we each needed the following:
A MicroAquarium that consisted of a glass tank, stand holder and lid, colored dots to mark our own MicroAquarium, a pipette, a mounted needle, tweezers, a source of soil and water, and two different plants or mosses.

After using three colored sticker dots and writing my initials on my tank to distinguish it from the rest of the lab section's tanks, I began setting up the MicroAquarium.

First, select a source of soil and water, then fill the tank with two/three milliliters of soil using the pipette. My soil/water source:
"Water pool below spring. Fountain City Park west of Broadway at Hotel Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Full shade exposure Spring Feed Pond N36 02.253 W83 55.986 990 ft 10/13/2013"  (McFarland, 2013).

Using the pipette, I extracted some soil from the tank containing the water and went to the sink. Working above the sink, I carefully squeezed the contents of the pipette into my small tank.

After I had enough soil, I filled up to three-quarters of my tank with water that was directly above the soil from my water source. Then, I filled my tank almost to the top with water just below the surface of the water source.

Now that I had water and soil in my MicroAquarium tank, I needed two different plants/mosses for it. I used:
"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).
"Fontinalis sp. Moss. Collected from: Holston River along John Sevier Hwy under I 40 Bridge Partial shade exposure Holston River water Shed N36 00.527 W83 49.549 823 ft 10/13/2013" (McFarland, 2013).

After setting up the MicroAquarium, I placed it under the microscope. To do this, I gently tilted the tank so the eventually the open end was away from me when it was flat on the microscope stage. The tank does not spill when lying flat, so do not have the lid on when viewing the MicroAquarium under a microscope.
I started at the weakest magnification, and adjusted the microscope's focus, then I looked at the MicroAquarium to see what I would find.
The MicroAquarium was very dormant. There was only one motile organism that was clear, small and had what appeared to be little tentacles or fingers clawing about, and its main body was inside one of the flowering plant's stem fibers so I could not really figure out its structure, however sometimes it would move whilst at others it remained completely still (making me question my observation). The stem fibers of this plant were a single cell thick and tubular, stacked one cell on top of the other. The structure of the moss's fibers seemed similar in structure, however the moss was a dark-green/brown color whilst the flowering plant's fibers where a brighter green, though both were somewhat translucent. Another living (non-dynamic) structure I saw on the flowering plant's stem fibers was what appeared to me as a lime-colored spiky fungal growth, however when Dr. McFarland saw it he identified them as cyanobacteria (though I haven't identified the species from a textbook yet).
Apart from that, there was no identifiable organisms, not in the soil or on/around the moss.


Bibliography:

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [cited October 22nd 2013]. Available from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/