Observation 5: November 13, 2013

Today I saw a few new organisms that I was not able to identify to genus level, but I was able to identify them to their phylum. I saw multiple Annelids, which have been difficult for me to find because they seem to like to hide in the soil at the bottom. I saw one struggling to eat or move a piece of plant material or debris and another at the bottom of the tank searching for food.

I also saw many Euplotes again this week and was able to take a better photo of them (Patterson, 1964).

Finally, probably my favorite organism that I've seen in the tank is an Amoeba. However, I was not able to identify it to genus or species level. It moved in a very odd fashion; it was like a slime and it's body would contort and change depending on the direction it was moving. There seemed to be things swimming inside of it. I'm not sure whether it was part of the organism or things it had eaten. It can be seen here next to a Euplotes. I saw several Amoebas, but this one was the biggest of them (Patterson, 1964). 

Observation 4: November 6, 2013

Though the microaquarium seems to look the same as it has the past few weeks, some of the activity seems to be slowing down. The Nostocs I had seen moving before do not seem dead, but they are moving much less than previously observed. The Diatoms also seem to be stationary with some slow movements, but they are not as active as they were before. I am not sure if this is due to the tank getting older or if it was just a coincidence and the time of day that I viewed them.

Diatoms still seem to be the most prolific of the organisms, but I was able to identify a new organism today. It looks like an everyday common insect, mostly like a beetle, except it is transparent. It looks like it has a shell on its back and legs, which are actually cilia. It is clear and has "horn" type features on what looks to be it's head. It moves quickly and there are many of them and they vary in size. The photos I took are not great, but the organism can be seen (Patterson, 1964).

Observation 3: October 30, 2013

On the third observation I continued to see more diatoms. I still saw the long, yellow and clear banana-shaped diatoms, but also saw a very different looking diatom as well. It is much wider and oblong than the previous diatoms. It was ribbed around the edges and moved somewhat slow. It is a yellowish-green color and is single-celled. Inside the organism looked like smaller organisms moving inside of it, though I am not sure if they were actually other organisms or just part of the diatom. The diatom is called Surirella sp. (Carter-Lund and Lund, 1995).

Another banana-shaped diatom identified as well. This one is called Gyrosigna sp. (Lund and Lund, 1995). It looks extremely similar to the other banana-shaped diatoms and they are very difficult to tell apart.

The last organism identified is something that I had not yet seen before. It is called Cyclidium sp. (Patterson, 1964). The organism was feeding at the time of observation by using it's cilia to pull the water in, thus pulling in food. While observing, it did not move other than using it's cilia, however when it was done, it moved away very quickly by a flagellum. 

Other activity worth noting was around the beta food pellet. There were swarms of organisms feeding off the pellet. The pellet was up near the top of the tank, where usually less organisms are observed, but since the food pellet was stationed up top, the organisms moved there too.

Observations 2: Ocotber 23, 2013

1. Diatoms
There are several diatoms in the aquarium. They seem to be the most abundant organism. Most of them are a yellow/golden color and are long, banana shaped. However, many of the smaller ones seem to be clear and not colored at all. They have valves at either end and some seem to have lobed valves at the end and others more pointed. They don't move very often, but when they do, their movement is not extremely rapid, but it's not very slow either. The two genera that seem to be in the tank are: Pinnularia sp. and Navicula sp.. They look very similar except for their valves.
(Patrick & Reimer 1996)

2. Oscilatoria sp.

• Single-celled
• Very long
• Moves very slowly
• Towards the bottom of the aquarium, near the sediment
• Organism tapers at the end
• Movement: curls and uncurls

This organism is likely the longest organism I've seen in the tank so far. It is very long and thin and does not seem to move very much. It tapers at one end where the head seems to be.

(Prescott 1964)

3. Nostoc sp.

• Multicelluar
• Segmented
• Towards the top of the tank
• Slow moving

This organism looks like a segmented worm with equal sized segments except the head seems to be a bit larger and shaped slightly differently. It moves very slow and is dark colored.

(Prescott 1964)

4. Other Organisms Observed

• There are still very fast moving, small organisms that have yet to be identified. They are by far the fastest moving organisms in the tank.
• A gigantic organism was seen in the sediment, but was hiding too well to make out what it might be. It looked like and extremely large worm. Likely the biggest organism observed in the tank thus far.
• Diatoms still seem to be the prevailing organism in the tank. They are the most abundant organism observed.

Note: On Friday, October 25, 2013 an Atison's Betta Food food pellet was dropped into the microaquarium. The beta food is made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas, 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104.
Ingredients: Fish meal, wheat flour, 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%.

Bibliography

Carter-Lund, H. and Lund, J. 1995. Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored. Bristol, England.: Biopress Ltd.; 380 p.

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 11 Fall 2013. [cited 20 October, 2013]. Available from
http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

Patrick R, Reimer C.W. 1996. The Diatoms of the United States Exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii Volume 1. Philadelphia (PA): The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 688 p.

Patterson, D.J.. 1964. Free-living Fresh Water Protozoa. Wiley, N.Y.: Amer Society for Microbiology; 233 p.

Prescott G.W. 1964. The Fresh Water Algae. Dubuque (IA): WM. C. Brown Company Publishers. 224 p.

How to Set Up Your MicroAquarium and Observation 1: October 16, 2013

Setting Up Your MicroAquarium

Before you can observe any micro-creatures swimming around and going about their micro lives, you must set up their home. Follow these simple steps in order to set up your MicroAquarium:

1. Put your MicroAquarium glass together. There will be a glass tank, a stand for the tank to sit in, and a lid.
2. Add colored dots to the side of your aquarium to code your aquarium in order to separate yours from the rest of the class.
• The first colored dot indicates your lab section.
• The second colored dot indicates the table you sit at during lab.
• The third colored dot designates the seat number at your lab table.
3. Write your initials on the colored dots.
4. Using the designated pipet on the side of the container first draw out a soil layer for the bottom of your MicroAquarium from your desired water source and add it to your glass tank.
5. Then draw water from the top of the container and add it to your glass tank.
6. Then fill the rest of your glass tank with water from the middle of the container.
7. Add plants or mosses to your glass tank.

The final product of your MicroAquarium should look something like this:

My Personal MicroAquarium

In my personal MicroAquarium, I used a water from Lynnhurst Cemetary in Knoxville, Tennessee at Adair Drive. The coordinates of this Spring Fed Pond are: N36 01.357 W83 55.731 958 feet (McFarland, 2013).

The plants that were added to my MicroAquarium consisted of Utricularia gibba L., Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg, and Fontinalis sp.. A bullet description of each plant can be found beow.

1. Utricularia Gibba L.

• Carnivous flowering plant
• Orignally from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00)
• Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta TN. in White Co.
• Grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee, Knox Co. Knoxville TN. October 13, 2013 (McFarland, 2013).

2. Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg.

• Moss
• Natural spring in partial shade
• Originally collected from Natural spring at Carters Mill Park. (N36 01.168 W83 42.832)
• Carter Mill Rd. Knox Co. TN. October 13, 2013 (McFarland, 2013).

3. Fontinalis sp.

• Moss
• Water source partially shaded
• Originally collected from Holston River along John Sevier Highway under I40 Bridge.
• Holston River Water Shed (N36 00.527 W83 49.549 823 feet. October 13, 2013 (McFarland, 2013).

Observation 1: October 16, 2013

Approximately 11:00 - 12:00 PM

Upon completing my MicroAquarium setup, I was able to observe the organisms on a computer monitor via a compound microscope connected to a camera. I saw numerous organisms, some big, some small, others were fast and some moved more diligently. The following descriptions are for organisms I was able to observe, however, only a few have been identified at this point. The positively identified ones are described first.

• Diatom - Pinnularia sp. and Navicula sp.
• Medium sized compared to other organisms in the the aquarium
• Many looked like a banana in shape and in color, though some were clear
• Long with what looks like a clear apendage at the end
• Not slow moving, but certainly not as fast as some other organisms
• Found near the bottom, near or in the soil layer
• (Patrick & Reimer, 1996)

Pinnularia sp. (Patrick & Reimer, 1996)

Navicula sp. (Patrick & Reminer)

• Urocentrum 
• Unicellular, but has a double-celled look
• Fast-moving, somewhat erratic
• Round
• Found near the soil or in the middle of the tank

(Patterson, 2003)

• Flagelate
• Very quick
• Move by two flagella
• Found towards the soil, but in the open water

• Paramecium
• Very large, the largest organism seen in the tank so far
• Big, somewhat slow-moving
• Tumbling movement

• Other Unidentified Things Seen
• Small, very quick moving organisms in large numbers. Probably the most abundant in the tank.
• An organism covered in cilia and moves by cilia.