Week Five Observation

This week was interesting- not because there was a whole lot of activity, but because of the lack of activity. There are now three midges that have grown so much that they can be observed without a microscope. They are a pale white, have a brown spot in their anterior, and have hair or cilia- like structures around their bodies. It seems that they have eaten nearly everything except for a the diatoms, cyanobacteria, and the plants which are all still in abundance. I have really enjoyed watching these midges grow and develop and essentially take over the MicroAquarium. It has been really interesteing to observe their impact on their environment as they have matured.

Week Four Observation

This week, several mature cyclopses were found in various areas in the tank. The midge has grown quite a bit, and its color is now more of a golden brown. It was moving more slowly this week near the plants. A few diatoms and cyanobacteria colonies were observed. The newest discovery this week was the Ammelid- Aeolosoma sp. (Pennack). It was large, light brown, and appeared to be slimy. It was weaving around the plants. This sums up the observations for this week. Hopefully, next week will be a little more exciting.

Week Three Observation

On Friday, October 25, a food pellet was added to my MicroAquarium. "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%.


This week in my MicroAquarium, I observed more Cyanobacteria and diatoms. I also discovered a midge or insect larvae- Chrinomus sp., a flatworm Stenostomum sp., and a Euchlanis sp. Many of these organisms were observed near the food pellet.

The midge was moving around spastically as in the following video.

 

(Pennack)

The flatworm was interesting. It was weaving around the plants in the tank. It was in the beginning stages of reproduction. In the picture below, you can see its divisions where it is about to divide in to a few new worms.

(Thorp and Covich)

The Euchlanis sp. was moving about using its flagellum.

(Patterson)

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.