Just as last week the M.A. has once again become a completely different environment. Only two microorganisms were identifiable this week, and the plant material has changed.
The leafy plant material located approximately half-way down in the center of the M.A. is beginning to turn brown (from green). The same plant material that is at the bottom has however become more lush. This lush material seems to be responsible for the larger amounts of microorganisms towards the bottom of the M.A..
The most stable population of the microorganisms seems to be the species of Rotifer known as Euchalanis. These rotifers could be found all over the M.A. but the highest concentrations were found in and around the sediment and plant material at the bottom (http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html).
The next microorganism I observed was one that I thought I had seen in previous weeks but was not sure, and it is a Paramecium (Guide to Microlife, pg 174). I could not tell what type of paramecium it was specifically, but the flagella that are located all around the outside of it's body were one of the defining traits that helped me identify it. There were only a few of these as it was difficult to distinguish them from the Euchalanis.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Observation Week #3
If one thing has remained constant throughout the MicroAquarium (M.A.) project, it is that when the water level changes, everything inside the water changes. This week I arrived at the lab to observe my MicroAquarium to find that about 1/4 of the had evaporated (leaving the food pellet from last week above the waterline). An overall decrease in the number of microorganisms present seems to have taken place due to the decrease in water level.
I was able to find at least one of each of the microorganisms that I had found the past two weeks except for two of them. The Midge I had obsereved in the sediment at the bottom of the MicroAquarium last week was still in the sediment not too far from where I first saw it. There were Rotifer to be found all throughout M.A., as they have been since the begining.
The two microorganisms I could not find that I had in weeks past, were the Lacymaria or the Cyclops. The numbers of these two that I had previously seen was low and even after checking in the places where I seen them before, I could not find a single one of them.
I was able to find at least one of each of the microorganisms that I had found the past two weeks except for two of them. The Midge I had obsereved in the sediment at the bottom of the MicroAquarium last week was still in the sediment not too far from where I first saw it. There were Rotifer to be found all throughout M.A., as they have been since the begining.
The two microorganisms I could not find that I had in weeks past, were the Lacymaria or the Cyclops. The numbers of these two that I had previously seen was low and even after checking in the places where I seen them before, I could not find a single one of them.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Observation: Week #2
Week two of observations brought about some interesting things. In addition to seeing more of the same organisms, I was able to observe one new organism in the M.A.(MicroAquarium).
This new organism happened to be the only one, and one of its kind (that I could tell) in the M.A.. While scanning the M.A. along the bottom, I noticed a worm like creature that would periodically stick its head out of the sediment that had collected at the bottom. This organism turned out to be a Midge (Pond II, poster). The Midge i observed turns out to be the larvae of a non-biting fly known as a midge fly (BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF NON-BITING AQUATIC MIDGES, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/midges.htm). Its long body was hidden mostly by the sediment at the bottom of the M.A., but every few seconds the Midge would protrude from the sediment to feed on some of the particles composing the sediment. It's head had two antennae and a mouth that appeared to be about the width of the head. The size of the Midge was much lager than any other micro-organism, nearly twice the size of any observed Cyclops.
Not too far from the Midge I observed in the sediment located along the bottom of the M.A., were two Cyclops. These were the only Cyclops that I could locate in the M.A., and they seemed to be following each other. The two Cyclops appeared to be either male (lack of egg sacks) or juvenile (lack of egg sacks/they had not developed yet).
In between observations of the M.A., a food pellet was added. All around this food pellet was a type of rotifer known as a Euchlanis (http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html). There were too many of these Rotifer's to count as they could be found moving about the whole entire M.A.. These Rotifer's have the appearance of a horseshoe crab, and use two appendages located at the rear of its body to move around (http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html). In addition to these Rotifers, I observed another type in the plant material that I had seen the previous week known as a Rotifer Philodina.(http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html). Only locating two of these Rotifer's in the M.A., the swirling motion created by it's wheel like organ caught my eye.
I was able to observe four more Lacrymaria this week. This time, two of them were stationary amongst the plant material, while the other two were moving about freely in the water on either side of the plant material. The two that I saw in the plant material were moving their neck and mouth around at a much higher rate of speed than the two that were moving around in the water.
This new organism happened to be the only one, and one of its kind (that I could tell) in the M.A.. While scanning the M.A. along the bottom, I noticed a worm like creature that would periodically stick its head out of the sediment that had collected at the bottom. This organism turned out to be a Midge (Pond II, poster). The Midge i observed turns out to be the larvae of a non-biting fly known as a midge fly (BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF NON-BITING AQUATIC MIDGES, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/midges.htm). Its long body was hidden mostly by the sediment at the bottom of the M.A., but every few seconds the Midge would protrude from the sediment to feed on some of the particles composing the sediment. It's head had two antennae and a mouth that appeared to be about the width of the head. The size of the Midge was much lager than any other micro-organism, nearly twice the size of any observed Cyclops.
Not too far from the Midge I observed in the sediment located along the bottom of the M.A., were two Cyclops. These were the only Cyclops that I could locate in the M.A., and they seemed to be following each other. The two Cyclops appeared to be either male (lack of egg sacks) or juvenile (lack of egg sacks/they had not developed yet).
In between observations of the M.A., a food pellet was added. All around this food pellet was a type of rotifer known as a Euchlanis (http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html). There were too many of these Rotifer's to count as they could be found moving about the whole entire M.A.. These Rotifer's have the appearance of a horseshoe crab, and use two appendages located at the rear of its body to move around (http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html). In addition to these Rotifers, I observed another type in the plant material that I had seen the previous week known as a Rotifer Philodina.(http://msnucleus.org/watersheds/mission/holoplankton.html). Only locating two of these Rotifer's in the M.A., the swirling motion created by it's wheel like organ caught my eye.
I was able to observe four more Lacrymaria this week. This time, two of them were stationary amongst the plant material, while the other two were moving about freely in the water on either side of the plant material. The two that I saw in the plant material were moving their neck and mouth around at a much higher rate of speed than the two that were moving around in the water.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Eight days after beginning the MicroAquarium (M.A.) , I was able to examine the contents in further detail. The interesting thing about the M.A. this week was the abundance of microscopic life that was everywhere, no matter where the microscope was (over the M.A.).
The first of the odd shaped organisms I focused on was a multi-cellular grazing rotifer called Philodina (Rotifera philodina)(K. Rainis, B. Russel; pg. 188). The Philodina I observed were stationary behind and on leaves of both plant sample A and plant sample B. The eye catching part of the Philodina were the two wheel like appendages that appeared to spin and literally suck things into it's body (which was little more than the wheel like appendage, a stomach looking, and a waste hole at the bottom of the stomach). The name rotifer actually means "wheel bearing"; the wheel like the appendages the Philodina have do not actually rotate per say, they actually move in a back and forth motion using the cilia at the tip of if to create a current directed into their mouth to catch food (Guide to Microlife, pg. 188). It would be hard to place a good estimate of the number of these organisms, but i can say it was no less than 50; they could be found around all of the plant material and floating about in the M.A.. A good website with a lot of information on the Philodina that was helpful to me is: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/rotifera/rotifera.html .
The next organism that I found myself looking at is a cyclops (multi-cellular) known as a copepod (Guide to Microlife, pg. 203-204). The body of this organism faintly resembles a horseshoe crab. It moves with the help of two large antennae at the top of its head or by using the legs attached to its thorax (Mike Morgan http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/articles/cyclops.html). I was able to count at least 15 of these organisms, and they seemed to be primarily around the perimeter and plant samples in the M.A.. These copepod's were able to move faster than anything else that I observed in the M.A., and appeared to be eating the plants and other small floating particles (too small to identify).
The final microorganism I was able to identify was an interesting long necked protist known as Lacrymaria (Patterson, pg. 204). When I first caught sight of the Lacrymaria, it was half hidden behind a leaf, moving it's neck (and mouth) in random directions very fast. The Lacrymaria has small oval shaped body with a neck that when not stretched out appears to be about twice the length of it's body; the end of the neck is where the organisms mouth is located. The most fascinating part of the Lacrymaria was it's ability to stretch it's neck to nearly twice the length of when it is resting, enabling it to grasp food and other things at a distance from its actual body (Patterson, pg 204).
The first of the odd shaped organisms I focused on was a multi-cellular grazing rotifer called Philodina (Rotifera philodina)(K. Rainis, B. Russel; pg. 188). The Philodina I observed were stationary behind and on leaves of both plant sample A and plant sample B. The eye catching part of the Philodina were the two wheel like appendages that appeared to spin and literally suck things into it's body (which was little more than the wheel like appendage, a stomach looking, and a waste hole at the bottom of the stomach). The name rotifer actually means "wheel bearing"; the wheel like the appendages the Philodina have do not actually rotate per say, they actually move in a back and forth motion using the cilia at the tip of if to create a current directed into their mouth to catch food (Guide to Microlife, pg. 188). It would be hard to place a good estimate of the number of these organisms, but i can say it was no less than 50; they could be found around all of the plant material and floating about in the M.A.. A good website with a lot of information on the Philodina that was helpful to me is: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/rotifera/rotifera.html .
The next organism that I found myself looking at is a cyclops (multi-cellular) known as a copepod (Guide to Microlife, pg. 203-204). The body of this organism faintly resembles a horseshoe crab. It moves with the help of two large antennae at the top of its head or by using the legs attached to its thorax (Mike Morgan http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/articles/cyclops.html). I was able to count at least 15 of these organisms, and they seemed to be primarily around the perimeter and plant samples in the M.A.. These copepod's were able to move faster than anything else that I observed in the M.A., and appeared to be eating the plants and other small floating particles (too small to identify).
The final microorganism I was able to identify was an interesting long necked protist known as Lacrymaria (Patterson, pg. 204). When I first caught sight of the Lacrymaria, it was half hidden behind a leaf, moving it's neck (and mouth) in random directions very fast. The Lacrymaria has small oval shaped body with a neck that when not stretched out appears to be about twice the length of it's body; the end of the neck is where the organisms mouth is located. The most fascinating part of the Lacrymaria was it's ability to stretch it's neck to nearly twice the length of when it is resting, enabling it to grasp food and other things at a distance from its actual body (Patterson, pg 204).
My MicroAquarium is composed of sample:
plant A- Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. Fountain City Park west of Broadway at Hotel Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Partial shade exposure. N 36o02' 15.18" W083o55' 59.95"988 ft. 10/13/2008
plant B- Utricularia vulgaris L. Flowering Plant. A carnivous plant. Collection from: Greenhouse in White Ave Biology Annex. The University of Tennessee. 1400 White Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN.Partial shade exposure N 35o57' 33.45" W083o55' 42.01". 932 ft 10/13/2008
water #4- Horse Farm Pond, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. Tennessee Partial shade exposure Well Feed Pond N36 00.431 W83 41.767 1069 ft 10/12/2008
Working with the microscope and the small folder with pictures and names of common aquatic micro-organisms, I was able to identify a few things I observed. Those creatures include a cyclops and a rotifer.
plant A- Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. Fountain City Park west of Broadway at Hotel Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Partial shade exposure. N 36o02' 15.18" W083o55' 59.95"988 ft. 10/13/2008
plant B- Utricularia vulgaris L. Flowering Plant. A carnivous plant. Collection from: Greenhouse in White Ave Biology Annex. The University of Tennessee. 1400 White Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN.Partial shade exposure N 35o57' 33.45" W083o55' 42.01". 932 ft 10/13/2008
water #4- Horse Farm Pond, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. Tennessee Partial shade exposure Well Feed Pond N36 00.431 W83 41.767 1069 ft 10/12/2008
Working with the microscope and the small folder with pictures and names of common aquatic micro-organisms, I was able to identify a few things I observed. Those creatures include a cyclops and a rotifer.
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