Observation 2: 10/27/11

On Friday October 21, 2011 each MicroAquarium received "ONE" Beta Food Pellet.
"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%.

Observation 2
As  was the case last week, there was a bit of water loss, which was replaced after observation. The addition of the food pellet impacted the life in my MicroAquarium tremendously. There was quite a bit more life than the previous week. I photographed some of the most commonly occurring organisms this week.

One such organism was Aeolosoma sp. I saw one organism last week, but there were more than I could count this week. This community definitely saw a boom in population this week. Some of these organisms were hidden in the dirt at the bottom of the aquarium as the first one was, appearing now and then to gather food. However, most of them were swimming freely, scattered throughout the bottom and middle layers of the aquarium. However, they did keep in the near vicinity of both plants. They moved at a moderate speed in fairly linear or slightly curved paths.

Another prevalent organism captured on camera this week was Vorticella sp. These small, mostly stationary creatures inhabited all layers of the aquarium. They were not attached to plants, and did not seem to exhibit a preference to be near the plants as the Aeolosoma did.

This week I was able to capture an image of a cyclops, of the order Copepoda. I saw only three this week, and am unsure as to whether the cyclops nymph observed last week survived and was simply hiding. As previously stated, these organisms swim freely in all areas of the aquarium and their frantic movement can be seen with the naked eye.

 The last identifiable organism I captured an image of was a seed shrimp, as seen to the left and below. I saw around five of them, scattered throughout all layers, but remaining close to the plants as the Aeolosoma did. Their movement was very quick and very chaotic, making these pictures difficult to take. The seed shrimp belongs to the order Ostracoda.

Due to the thickness of the aquariums, the 40x lens objective could not be used. Therefore, not all organisms in my aquarium were readily identifiable with the magnification used. Scattered throughout the water were many single-celled organisms of different shapes, sizes, colors, and movement. Even though I could not identify the organisms in the image to the left, I thought it pertinent to have an image of them, as they are so frequent in my aquarium. These organisms were mostly stationary, and inhabited all areas. I viewed many that were much more active, some that were longer and thinner, and even some whose green color suggested that they were photosynthetic.

All organisms pictured here were identified with the following source:
Pennak, R. Fresh-water Invertebrates of the United States. New York: The Ronald Press Company; 1953.

As a last observation, I did notice some dead organisms at the bottom of the MicroAquarium. they were all long, green, and slender, resembling very closely the images of desmids on a poster in the lab. I observed no other dead organisms.

Observation 1: 10/20/11

Observation 1
Overall, there was quite a bit more life in the MicroAquarium this week as compared to last week. There was about two centimeters of water loss, which was replaced at the end of the observation. The life I saw was quite diverse throughout the three layers of the aquarium.

Top Layer:
The three cyclops were still quite active, and I was even able to observe a cyclops nymph. Both nymph and adult displayed frantic motion, and roamed the entire width of the aquarium in the top layer.
I also observed numerous transparent, single-celled organisms identified as paramecia using the identification books in the lab.
One puzzling feature I observed was the presence of small, vibrating specks. I first believed them to be dirt or dust molecules, but the vibrations puzzled me. I wonder if they are some very small one-celled organisms.

Middle Layer:
In the middle layer, I saw many small, fast moving, transparent organisms only a tenth of the size of the paramecia. I have been so far unable to identify them.
In both the middle and bottom layers were many, many long, green organisms moving slowly. Using a poster in the lab, I identified them as a type of green algae called desmids.

Bottom Layer
Aside from the desmids, I saw some other organisms in the bottom layer. There were two moving rotifers, identified with the identification packet on the lab benches. I also saw a stationary member of the navicula genus, a type of diatom (http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa).
I also saw a stationary stentor coeruleus, a type of protozoan, attached to the dirt (http://www.microscope-microscope.org/applications/pond-critters/protozoans/ciliphora/stentor.htm).

Out of all the life observed, however, the most memorable was an organism that I nearly missed. As I scanned the dirt on the bottom layer, I saw some of it moving. With a little focusing of the microscope and a little patience, I began to see glimpses of something worm-like in the dirt. My first view of it head-on came when it extended itself from the dirt to grab onto some plant matter, eat it, then retreat back into the dirt. It was indeed worm-like, and transparent with red dots along it's circular head and elongated body. With the help of Dr McFarland, this odd looking organism was identified as aeolosoma leidyi. Pictures coming soon!

Inital Observation: 10/12/2011

We set up our MicroAquariums this past Wednesday, October 12, 2011. A third of the aquarium was water from the bottom of the sample, including some dirt/mud. A third of our sample came from the middle layer, and the last third was surface water. We then made some initial observations.

Water source: Tommy Schumpert Pond, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Lane, Knox County, Tennessee. Partial shade exposure. Sheet runoff around sink hole

Included plants:
Amblestegium sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox County, TN. Partial shade exposure.
Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake, Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta Tn. in White Co. and grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building.

Initial observation:
On the first day of observation, I observed quite a bit of life in the MicroAquarium. I was able to spot three cyclops, a type of copepod, as identified by the Pond Life Identification Kit (http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/wimsmall/small.html). There were numerous small, one-celled organisms that I identified as paramecium ciliates, also with the help of the Pond Life Identification Kit. I also observed a multicellular organism of some type of worm, but was unable to identify it. It moved in a frantic, S-shaped pattern, similar to nematodes as described by the Pond Life Identification Kit, but had one major difference. The organism I observed was a linear strand of cells only one cell thick. Due to this feature, I was unable to identify the organism yet. If I can find the name of this organism, I will post it at a later date.