Week Two Observation

On Wednesday, October 23, I observed a few organisms in my Micro-aquarium. These included a Cyclops, Pinnularia, Amisonema,Gomphosphaeria, and Coleps.

The Cyclops has six legs near the anterior of its body and a large round spot on its back that resembles an eye. When I discovered it, the Cyclops appeared to be hopping near the soil. (Pennack)

 The Pinnularia is a diatom that is rod shaped and is a golden-green color. It slowly floats around the aquarium in various areas.

(Patterson)

The Amisonema is round and has two flagella that allow it to move swiftly about the aquarium. 

(Patterson)

Gomphosphaeria is a Cyanobacteria that forms colonies as seen in the picture below.

                                        

(Forest)

I enjoyed observeing the Coleps. They are oblong and brown. These peculiar organisms tumble around the tank changing their shape into a ball and expanding it again. This motion can be viewed in the video below.

(Patterson)

References

Forest, Herman Silva. Handbook of Algae. The University of Tennessee Press; 1954. Print.pg 371.

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [October 22,2013]. Available from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

Patterson, David J.. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa: a Colour Guide. New York: Wiley ;, 1996. Print. pg. 223

Patrick, Ruth; Reimer, Charles W..The Diatoms of the United States.Livingston Publishing Company; 1966. Print. 688 pages.   pg 666.

Pennack, RW.  Fresh-water Invertebrates of the United States. John Wiley and Sons.1989. pg 687.

Thorp, James H and Covich, Alan P. Ecology and Class of North American Freshwater Invertebrates, 3rd edition. Elsevier Inc.2010. 1021 pages.

MicroAquarium Set Up and Initial Observation

I. Set Up

1. MicroAquarium, base, and lid are collected. 
2. Water and sediment from the sample of the pond at Meads Quarry on Island Home Avenue in Knox County Tennessee are placed in the aquarium with a pipette. 
3. Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg moss collected from a natural spring at Carters Mill Park on Carter Mill Road in Knox County Tennessee is added to the aquarium. 
4. Utriculana gibbia from Spain Lake on Camp Bella Air Road and White County, Tennessee is added.       (McFarland 2013)
5. A color-coded system is used to identify the aquariums. This aquarium has  green, blue, and yellow dots used to identify it.  
6. The lid and base are put into place. 

II. Initial Observations

            

               On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, the Microaquarium was assembled and observed.  A few,            scattered, single-celled organisms were observed swimming freely about the aquarium. Other organisms viewed were stationary such as the green plants that were previously described.