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>.