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:
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/
