Week #2 Observations

This week I saw many interesting things in my MicroAquarium....
One of the first things that I saw a protozoa with cilia on both of its ends. I was later able to identify it as a Trachyosoma with the help of Free-living Freshwater Protozoa: A Color Guide by D.J. Patterson. Figure #265. I was able to take a picture of what my Trachyosoma looked like. It is the first picture on the left. Another protozoa that I saw in my MicroAquarium looked like an upside-down bell. On the top it was covered by swirling cilia. On the bottom it had two long fibers. Using the same resource, I discovered that the protozoa was a Vorticella and that the cilia on the top were used to suck in water to get food. Figure #233. I was able to take a picture of this also and it is the picture on the right. I was also able to find Euplotes in my MicroAquarium. I was able to identify it with the help of Dr. McFarland. I took a picture of this as well and it is the picture on the bottom. Along with all these interesting protozoa there was many blue-green algae and other Cyanobacteria. I can't wait till I get to observe my MicroAquarium again.



Sources:

Patterson, D.J. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Color Guide. Washington D.C.: Manson Publishing, 1995. Print.

Week #1 Observations

For the first week of the Biology 111 Term Project we set up our MicroAquarium. I set mine up by first putting the correct color dots on the glass tank so my MicroAquarium could be identified. Then using a pipet, I extracted water from one of the containers on the lab bench. The water I used was from site number 10, which is a water pool in Lynnhurst Cemetery off of Adair Drive. Knox Co. I extracted water from the bottom of the container until the MicroAquarium was 1/3 full. The next 1/3 was taken from the middle layer of the container. The last 1/3 was taken from the surface. I used some plants and moss to decorate the MicroAquarium. Plant A is Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss from at natural spring at Carters Mill Park. Plant B is Utricularia vulgaris L., which is a flowering, carnivous plant from south shore of Spain Lake in White Co. Tenn.
Using a microscope I observed the contents of my MicroAquarium. At first, I could not see any movement, but finally I saw a large organism, that was later identified as a water mite, moving around the bottom of my MicroAquarium. I could not anything other than that moving in my MicroAquarium. I am sure that I will see a lot more interseting things in my next observation.