11/15/12 MicroAquarium Observation 5

MicroAquarium Observation 5 - November 15, 2012

 

On Thursday, November 15th, I made my final observation regarding the MicroAquarium. Right off of the bat I noticed an increase from one amoeba last observation to an asotounding five this week. The best amoeba was spotted in the top layer of the MicroAquarium with multiple organisms it had disgested visible inside of it. These creatures are slow-moving and very large in comparison to many organisms. Previously mentioned in Week 2 of observations, I came upon a few actinosphaeriums again and noticed they had increased in size (Patterson 1998). Actinosphaerium are too slow to be noticed in small amounts of time. Also on this top layer I noticed many fragments of dead organisms, surprisingly, this layer seemed to have the largest amount of fragments in comparison. 

 

Moving into the middle layer I came upon various algae. Once again, primarily oscillatoria were encountered (Prescott 1978). Amoeba were also present in this area. The middle layer is the least inhabited area of the MicroAquarium.

 

The liveliest layer within my MicroAquarium was certainly the bottom layer. Among previously encountered organsims once again seen were more amoeba and stentors. This week I came across an organism I had never encountered before. This organism had rotating cilia similar to stentors and was identified as a Euplote. (Figure 201, Pg 124, Patterson 1998). 

Bibliography

• Patterson D. 1998. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa.  1st Edition. Loudon, NW, London Madison Publishing. 223 pp.
•  Prescott, G.W. 1978. How to Know Freshwater Algae. 2nd Edition. Dubuque, IA. W.C. Brown Publishing. 293 pp.

11/7/12 MicroAquarium Observation 4

MicroAquarium Observation 4 - November 7, 2012

This week displayed the most activity I have encountered in regard to my MicroAquarium. As usual, my observations began with scanning throughout different levels of the Aquarium. Immediately upon beginning I encountered an organism I had never observed before, this organism could be identified as a euchlanis (Pennack 1989). Attached to this organism was a difflugia (Pennack 1989). The Euchlanis "rolled" around end over end very rapidly yet remained in the same vicinity. This multi-celled organism also had active antennae, I encountered around five of these throughout all layers. Once more, I encountered multiple actinosphaerium also in the upper layer of the MicroAquarium. Meandering through leaves I spotted a bowling-pin shaped single celled organism. This organism changed locations very quickly and hid behind leaves, I could not gather a proper identification on this organism.

Progressing, the second layer was also interesting this week. Many pinnularia were observed though many were also dead. Water gnats seems to be most abundant in the middle, also. I came across a large, glob-like organism slowly moving throughout the water. This organism was then identified as an amoeba, the first I have come across. This creature was slow-moving yet was not bothered by any other organisms within the MicroAquarium, as it was significantly larger. This amoeba was the only amoeba present.

Lastly, the bottom layer contained many organisms both new and old. Cyanobacteria were once again present. Also, the stentors I have encountered in the past weeks have progressively slowed and not become as active as they once were, the cilia are not spinning near as fast. As each week continues I notice more and more dead organisms collecting at the bottom of the MicroAquarium primarily in the sediment. An interesting find I had not yet encountered were fragilaria (Prescott 1978). This multi-celled organism was gold in color and remained stationary, there were about three of these organisms in the same vicinity.

Bibliography

• Pennack, R. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. 1st Edition. New York, New York, Wiley-Interscience Publishing. 656 pp.
• Prescott, G.W. 1978. How to Know Freshwater Algae. 2nd Edition. Dubuque, IA. W.C. Brown Publishing. 293 pp.

11/2/12 MicroAquarium Observation 3

MicroAquarium Observation 3 - November 2, 2012

This week my MicroAquarium has greatly increased in biological diversity and activity. On Friday October 26th a Beta Fish food pellet (Nutritional information in bibliography) was placed into all of our MicroAquariums. Based upon this addition it seems there is a direct correlation between an increase in life and the addition of the BFFP. My visiting time was around 11 A.M. on Friday, November 2nd. 

Interestingly, the top layer did not have as much as activity as last week, it seems all of the activity has shifted towards the bottom half. on the upper layer I saw a lot of the same organisms. Most notably, an actinosphaerium was identified again (Patterson 1996). Once more, this multi-celled organism was stationary and had many axopodium (legs). 

Upon scrolling through the MicroAquarium the middle layer had quite a bit of activity. Unfortunately, I could only gather one confirmed species. This species was a Vorticella (Patterson 1996). Attached to a stem of one of the plants the organism was not mobile. No chlorophyll was present in the organism and it was multi-celled.  This organism had "teeth," also known as cilia to assist in food collection and guide it down the digestive tract much like a Stentor (Figure 223, Page 113, Patterson 1996). Aside from this discovery, many of the same organisms are present in the MicroAquarium as last week, but with more regularity and larger size. 

The liveliest layer was the bottom layer. Many dead organisms appeared on the bottom, also. Two species of cyanobacterium were identified in this layer. The first, oscillatoria, is multi-celled and slowly moved through the liquid (Figure 328, Page 187, Prescott 1978). This organism is very long and somewhat rigid and also has chlorophyll pigments present, differentiating it from normal bacteria. The other species, ulothrix, is a smaller species of cyanobacterium. Though still long, it's individual cells were closer together, allowing the organism to have more agility; this cyanobacteria again had pigments present (Figure 328, Page 187, Prescott 1978). This week I again identified a stentor, this stentor had the same cilia as the previously mentioned vorticella and has grown significantly since the last examination (Figure 214, Page 112, Patterson 1996).  A pediastrum was also identified in the bottom layer, this organism does not move and is multi-cellular, it contains a lot of chlorophyll (Figure 81, Page 63, Prescott 1978).

Bibliography

• Patterson D. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa.  1st Edition. Loudon, NW, London Madison Publishing. 223 pp.

•   Botany 111 Fall 2012 (Blog). Watersource: 9.  Sterchi Hills Greenway Trail on Rife Range Road in Knoxville (cited 2012 October 22).  Available from: http://botany1112012.blogspot.com/
• Prescott, G.W. 1978. How to Know Freshwater Algae. 2nd Edition. Dubuque, IA. W.C. Brown Publishing. 293 pp. 
• "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%. 

 

10/24/12 MicroAquarium Observation 2

MicroAquarium Observation Two - October 23, 2012

My observations took place on October 23rd around 11:30 A.M. After obtaining the MicroAquarium began the observation under a standard microscope with built-in camcorder/camera along with a digital viewing screen. All three layers were vibrant and abundant in life this week in comparison to last week.
My first point of observation began with scrolling the microscope lens across the upper layer. This layer was the least lively of my three layers I observed. Many small nimble organisms shot across the lens but I was not able to follow most of them. I confirmed the presence of many actinosphaeriums (Patterson 1996). These organisms were slow to move and didn't seem to interact very much within the water as it seemed their coccus shaped bodies appeared to "hover" throughout the fluid. This organism was single-celled and had many hair-like structures on the outside as you can see called axopods along with an absence of chlorophyll (Patterson 1996).  In the middle layer I came across stationary creatures positively identified as Pinnularia (Patterson 1996). These were located at throughout the entire MicroAquarium and did not move, they had a very intricate multi-cellular internal structure, I did notice pigments and chlorophyll within them.  I also observed an elongated bacillus-shaped slow-moving creature and am unable to identify it but appeared to be full of chlorophyll and multi-celled.  The bottom layer on the MicroAquarium was the most full of life. My most prized discovery was that of a stentor (Patterson 1996). This is best described as a bugle with spinning "teeth" on the edge of the bugle. These "teeth" are actually cilia it uses for feeding (Patterson 1996). This organism appeared as single-celled and was actually attached to the stem of one of the plants, it appeared to have a blueish tint. I only observed three of these stentors. I did not observe any complete dead organisms on the bottom of the MicroAquarium but did notice what appeared to be a fragment of an organism floating, it was a crystalline-shaped fragment and I only came across one of these.
After this observation a single pellet of Beta Fish Food was added on October 26th, 2012 in preparation of observation next week."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% (Botany 111 Lab Blog).

Bibliography:

• Patterson D. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa.  1st Edition. Loudon, NW, London Madison Publishing. 223 pp.

•  Botany 111 Fall 2012 (Blog). Watersource: 9.  Sterchi Hills Greenway Trail on Rife Range Road in Knoxville (cited 2012 October 22).  Available from: http://botany1112012.blogspot.com/

10/17/2012 MicroAquarium Set-up

MicroAquarium Set-Up/First Observation-October 17th, 2012

This is my first blog entry utilizing my Biology 111 Lab Blog. This project takes place over a three week period and results are recorded weekly based on observations taken weekly. Firstly, after obtaining our own MicroAquariums three dots were placed on the top left corner; the top dot was the color of our lab section, second dot was the table we sat at, and the third number is our seat at the table. Additionally, our initials were placed on the dots. 

My partner and I were assigned to water sample number nine, which will be explained later. Using a pipet water was extracted in three increments. First, a pipet full of sediment from the bottom of the larger sample was placed in the MicroAquarium. Secondly, a middle later was extracted with the top-most layer placed last into the MicroAquarium. Along with the main sample two plants were placed into the MicroAquarium for further diversity; these plants were A, Amblestegium sp. Moss, and plant B,Utricularia gibba   (McFarland 2012).

As previously mentioned my MicroAquarium consists of source number nine. This location is the pond at Sterchi Hills Greenway Trail on Rife Range Road in Knoxville.The pond has full sun exposure and encounters sheet runoff from hills for replenishment. N36 02.687 W83 57.159 1065 ft 10/9/2012 (Botany 111 Lab Blog).
After completion the first order of business was examination under the microscope. The meniscus of the water sample allowed the MicroAquarium to be turned on it's side for optimal examination.  Due to the thickness of the aquarium only 4x and 10x zoom levels were recommended. Unfortunately, my water from the Sterchi Hills source was not very lively, I observed one flagella-driven organism in the water, this was the only living organism I observed. I believe the organism I observed was a multi-celled organism due to the fact I was able to clearly observe it through 10x strength. This organism seemed to swim through the bottom layer of the MicroAquarium, directly above the sediment. The two green plants both had chlorophyll within them. The sediment on the bottom of the MicroAquarium did not have any organisms visible yet or simply could not be seen at the available microscope strengths.

Sources:

Botany 111 Fall 2012 (Blog). Watersource: 9.  Sterchi Hills Greenway Trail on Rife Range Road in Knoxville (cited 2012 October 22).  Available from: http://botany1112012.blogspot.com/

  Botany 2012 MicroAquarium Blog. www.botany1112012.blogspot.com