Friday, November 16th

Today, as I expected, there were hardly any organisms still living in my aquarium. It wasn't until I observed the bottom of the aquarium that I found a large amount of organisms. The three main organisms I observed were Fragellaria sp. (Rainis and Russell 1996 page 113), Stylaria sp. (Rainis and Russell 1996 page 227), and Actinosphaerium (Patterson 1996 page 169 figure 395), and there was an ample amount of each in the mud at the bottom of the aquarium. This was the first time I had noticed a Fragellaria, which is a ribbon-shaped diatom that continuously breaks apart and reproduces to form new ribbons. A few organisms I have seen since the very first observation are Actinosphaerium, Clacoderan, and Ostrocod. They have been consistent and there have been a good amount of them each time. I assume they require the least amount of nutrients to survive.





Rainis K.G. and Russell B.J. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Franklin Watts. United States. 287 p.


Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. (NY) John Wiley and Sons. 223 p.

Friday, November 9th

Today, I am sad to report that the mass majority of living organisms in my aquarium have died in the past week. The main organisms left are vertebrates, such as Cladoceran, or water flea, (Pennak 1989 page 481 image D) and Ostrocod, or Seed Shrimp (Rainis and Russell 1996 page 209). Both of these organisms have been present in the aquarium since the first observation. I did, however see a few invertebrates, such as the Chaos sp. (Lee, Hunter, and Bovee 1985 page 162 fig. 4) seen to the right. This is an amoeba that moves by means of cytoplasmic flow inside of the organism. The cytoplasm flows in the direction it wants to move, pushing it in that direction. I also identified a Stylodaria sp. (Rainis and Russell 1996 page 227). This is the organism with the long, trunk-like proboscis seen above. Plant B, the Utricularia gibba, which showed great growth last week, has also died within the past week.

Rainis K.G. and Russell B.J. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Franklin Watts. United States. 287 p.

Lee J.J., Hunter S.H., and Bovee E.C. 1985. Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa. Allen Press, Inc. Lawrence, KS. 629 p.

Pennak RW. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. (NY) John Wiley and Sons. 628 p.

Friday, November 2nd

Today, the addition of the Beta Fish Pellet was obviously observed. Millions of little flagellates have come to be as a result of the fish pellet, however, they have not yet been identified. Among the flagellates, Euplotes were also added to the ecosystem (Patterson 1996 page 124 figure 261) I continued to see many Actinosphaerium sp. throughout the tank, as well as multiple Gastrotrich, shown above (Pennak 1989 page 126 figure 6.7). Very little is known about these invertebrates. I observed tremendous growth in plant B, the Utricularia gibba. The flowering buds on the plant had grown very much in both size and quantity.

Chaetonotus, or Gastrotrich

Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. (NY) John Wiley and Sons. 223 p.




Pennak RW. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. (NY) John Wiley and Sons. 628 p.

Day 2, Friday October 26, 2012

 

The Anisonema sp. observed. If you look closely, you can identify the two distinct flagella

 

The Cladoceran, Ostrocoda, and the Actinosphaerium

Today, I was able to observe my MicroAquarium under a microscope. A camera was attached to the microscope, enabling us to take pictures of the activities and organisms we observed. I was fortunate to experience a good amount of different organisms, including the Anisonema sp. shown in the top figure. Anisonema are flagellants with two flagella differing greatly in size and breadth. The smaller, anterior flagellum beats normally to propel the cell, while the longer, broader recurrent flagellum trails the cell and keeps it on track (Patterson 1996 page 54 figure 78 and Pennak. In the picture on the bottom, you can see a very interesting phenomenon occuring. We have a Cladoceran, or water flea, and an Ostrocoda, a shrimp-type organism, both caught in the arms, or axopodia, of an Actinosphaerium (Patterson 1996 page 169 figure 395). Also, one Beta Fish Food Pellet was added to the MiniAquarium on Friday, October 26, 2012. "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% (McFarland 2012). This addition will hopefully result in some very interesting observations. 


Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. (NY) John Wiley and Sons. 223 p.

Pennak RW. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States. (NY) John Wiley and Sons. 628 p.

Day 1, Wednesday October 17th

MiniAquarium with Amblestegium on the left and Utricularia gibba on the right

 

Today, we set up our MiniAquariums. My aquarium contains water collected from Fountain City Duck Pond. West of Broadway at Cedar Lane. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Full sun exposure. Spring Feed Pond N36 02.087 W83 55.967 963 ft 10/9/2011(McFarland 2012). The pond is home to a number of ducks and geese, who provide the pond with a healthy amount of nutrients. We put two plants in our aquariums to be observed. Plant A, Amblestegium 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. 10/9/2011 (McFarland 2012). 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 2012). Upon observation under a microscope, movement of small, single-celled organisms could be noted. One in particular I found is known as colpidium. Colpidium is anchored to a larger organism by means of a sort of fiber and has many other short fibers covering the outside of the organism. The fibers move and circulate cooperatively of one another to create a vortex in the water, bringing food and nutrients to the organism. Interesting stuff.



McFarland K. Found at http://botany1112012.blogspot.com/