Week 5 Observations

This is the finial week of observations, which is probably a good thing because the first thing I noticed about my tank is that the water had pretty much 2/3rds evaporated, and upon putting it under the microscope, I noticed that a lot of my larger organisms had died.


Observations:

Many of my rotifers, ostracods, and my Diptera had all perished by the finial week of observations, and my tank was murky and filled even more so with diatoms, cyanobacteria, and paramecium. My bladderworts all housed even more small ostracods, and I spotted a few clear ones swimming around- unlike the larger brown ostracods my tank housed in the beginning.

I did not find any new organisms in my tank the finial week, but there was definitely a decrease in the larger microscopic organisms then the week prior, probably due to lack of resources for food since so much water had evaporated.





Citations:
McFarland, Ken. An Inquiry into the Dynamic Microorganisms in Our Environment. Biology 111 2010, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 12 nov. 2010.

Week Four Observations

Initial Observations:

My water was a lot more murky than the previous week, and my Diptera specimen had grown considerably and was still kicking up the soil and knocking the plants around inside my micro-aquarium.



Observations:

Perhaps my water was so much murkier because there was a whole new host of organisms. There were more than double to already huge number of diatoms, as well as tons of paramecium swimming in all the levels of the mini tank. There were also green algae structures in some spots of the aquarium.


Also, there were a new species of rotifers, Philodina, all along my Fontinalis moss.




Other interesting things I noticed is that my Utricularia gibba bladders were hosts of baby ostracods, which I could not get a clear picture of them in the bladders, I got a picture of one of the older and bigger ostracods that was rummagging freely about the tank:

Also, I noticed a few Vorticella around the top and bottom of the tank as well.








Citations:

 Lee JC, Hunter S, Bovee EC, editors. 1985. Illistrated Guide to Protozoa. Lawrence, Kansas: Allen Press Inc. 600 p.

Patterson D. 2003. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa. Washington, DC: Manson publishing. 400 p.

Week 3 Observations

Initial Observations:

The first thing I noticed about my micro-aquarium without even placing it under the microscope was the large bug larva swimming around in circles, throwing up all my soil and knocking into my plants haphazardly. Also, my water level had gone down significantly.

Observations:
Upon further observations I identified the larva as a Diptera species, or mosquito larva. It was also swimming around eating many of my rotifers.

This is the head of the Diptera, eating some micro-organisms in the soil at the bottom of my tank.



I also noticed a cyclops that I didn't notice before, which swam in the middle of the tank during all my observations.

Upon further inspection of the "bladders" on my bladderwort, I noticed that some of them were crawling with paramecium. The spun in circles inside the plant structure constantly.

This is a picture of the bladderwort at 4x magnification.

But at a 10X magnification you can see all the little paramecium inside the bladderwort, they look like little pieces of rice.

Those are the most interesting things I noticed in my micro-aquarium in the third week of obervations.

Citations:

Patterson D. 2003. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa. Washington, DC: Manson publishing. 400 p.

Week 2 Observations

Observations 10/22/10:


I conducted observations ten days after initial setup of the micro-aquarium, the water level stayed the same, but the amount of organisms I observed was defiantly greater than the initial setup.


Organisms:
In my micro aquarium I observed and identified a few of the species swimming around in the tank, but the most obvious change in system was the amount of rectangle shaped diatoms- going from a mere handful the day of initial setup to hardly being able to move the microscope without seeing at least one, and there was a whole colony of countless diatoms at the bottom of the tank.


I also observed three more ostracods than the initial observation- bring the total to five, as well as several rotifers and cynobacteria. 


In the "bladders" of my bladderwort plant there also was a whole host of small organisms that just wiggled around inside the plant structure.


Ostracods:


Like the copepods, the ostracods are very numerous in both freshwater and marine environments. There are 2000 living species. The larger marine species are also known as mussel shrimps or seed shrimps, but the freshwater ostracods are usually smaller than a millimeter. In freshwater ponds they are usually found scuttling around among the submerged plants and debris at the shallow edges, and less commonly in the open waters. They swim smoothly with appendages extended from between the two halves of their carapace. When disturbed, they withdraw their limbs and clamp the halves of their tiny shells tightly together. (Cypris, 2000)


Rotifers:

• Rotifers are multicelled animals. Because they are so small most people have never heard of their       existence. They are about the same size as the larger unicellular organisms. They don't have a lot of cells, less than 1000, but they have some very special attributes. They are wonders of miniature design.
• At the front of the body they possess a crown of hair-like cilia. They locomote by using the crown of cilia (the corona) to propel themselves. Some species walk with head and foot. Their foot can secrete a sticky substance that enables them to attach to a surface.
• They also use the crown of cilia to wave food into their mouth. There the food is passed into the 'mastax' where two so-called 'trophi' process the food before it is directed towards the gut. Rotifers are so transparent that all these organs can be observed easily.
• They have one or two light sensitive red eye spots.
• There is an enormous variety of spectacular body shapes, all to suit the different lifestyles or environmental conditions.
• Because many species make so-called resting spores which are easily carried by the wind, they can be found anywhere if there is a little bit of water. Even in a roof gutter or in birdbaths. (Egmond,1995)

Cynobacteria:

Cyanobacteria are aquatic and photosynthetic, that is, they live in the water, and can manufacture their own food. Because they are bacteria, they are quite small and usually unicellular, though they often grow in colonies large enough to see. They have the distinction of being the oldest known fossils, more than 3.5 billion years old, in fact! It may surprise you then to know that the cyanobacteria are still around; they are one of the largest and most important groups of bacteria on earth. (Berkley)

Diatoms:

• Diatoms are delicate unicellular organisms that have a yellow-brown chloroplast that enables them to photosynthesize. Their cell walls are made of silica almost like a glass house. The construction of the cell wall, called the frustule, consists of two valves that fit into each other like a little pill box.
• The colour of the chloroplast is yellow-brown instead of the green we know of other creatures that use light as a source for energy. (Egmond, 1995)

Beta Food Pellet:


On Friday, 10/22/10 there was a beta fish food pellet added to my micro aquarium, ten days after the initial setup.

 "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%.


Citations:
2010 [cited 2010 Oct 24].Cynobacteria: Life History and Ecology. [Internet]. California: University of California Museum of Paleontology. Available from: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanolh.html.
Cypris . 2010 [cited 2010 Oct 24].Crustaceans: Freshwater Ostracods and Shrimp. [Internet]. Micrographia. Available from: http://www.micrographia.com/specbiol/crustac/ostraco/ostr0100.htm.
Egmond W V. 2010 [cited 2010 Oct 24].Rotifers. [Internet]. United Kingdom: Microscopy-uk. Available from: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/rotidr.html.
Egmond W V. 2010 [cited 2010 Oct 24].Diatoms. [Internet]. United Kingdom: Microscopy-uk. Available from: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/diadr.html.

Constructing my Micro-aquarium

Last week in lab (October 12, 2010) each member of the class set up their own individual micro-aquarium, which is the basis for our term projects- which aid in the objective of learning about microorganisms.

Procedure:

First, I was given the means to make my aquarium structure- a small glass tank, a stand, and a lid. The glass tank was then labeled with colored stickers to specifically identify my micro-aquarium based on section, table, and seat number. Then, once presented with all 13 different choices of a water source, I was told to choose one for my aquarium. I ended up choosing source 13, which is water from a plastic birdbath.

13. Plastic Bird Bath Pool

13. Plastic Bird Bath pool . 0.9 mile from Fountain City Pond on Fountain Rd. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Partial shade exposure N 36o02.249' W083o55.999' 1121 ft 10/10/2010 (McFarland, 2010)

Taking a pipet, water was taken from the bottom, middle, and top of the water in the container and put into the small glass tank of the micro-aquarium. Then,I added specimens of plants A and B to my micro-aquarium.

Plant A . Fontinalis sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/10/2010 (McFarland, 2010)

Plant B. Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivous 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. (McFarland, 2010)

The lid was then placed onto the small glass tank, the tank was set in the stand, and the assembling of my micro-aquarium was complete.

My micro-aquarium

Observations:

As I observed my tank in the microscope, I was pleased which my water choice. There were organisms swimming around no matter where I moved the lens. There were countless semi clear micro-organisms with hairs that propelled them, and many that had tails and propelled themselves in circles. There were also four of five organisms that could be seen swimming around with the naked eye, looking like moving bits of sand. Upon closer inspection they appeared to be tiny bugs and had many limbs that they were using to feed off of the plants and dirt in my container. I do not know the names, scientific or otherwise, of these organisms, but I shall find those out upon further observation of my tank.

Citations:

McFarland, Ken. An Inquiry into the Dynamic Microorganisms in Our Environment. Biology 111 2010, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2010.

<http://botany1112010.blogspot.com/2010/10/inquiry-into-dynamic-microorganisms-in.html>.