On Friday, October 23rd, I made the second observation of my MicroAquarium. I saw a few of the same organisms as before. I saw several euglenoids (organisms that look like small blades of grass with a red eye spot at the end). They were barely moving. I saw some dark green spherical-shaped organisms that were not moving. These were possibly green algae, which are single-celled organisms. I observed a Protozoa swimming slowly near Plant A. It was a round single-celled organism with a single eye spot and a flagella at the opposite end. Another observation I made near Plant A was a round clear organism the appeared to be throbbing. It was stationary, but its insides seemed to be throbbing like the beating of a human heart.
I saw some new organisms, or organisms I do not recall seeing during the first observation. The most impressive one was a slow-swimming Arthropod. It stayed close to Plant A. I think it was a Crustacea--Copepod. It was clear and had a red dot at the top of its "head." The center of its body was orange. It had 2 antennae and 2 tails. Another guess as to what it was is a Gastrotrich, because they have 2 tails. Something rather interesting I saw was a series of connected cube shapes. I think they are either Water-Web (green algae) or blue-green algae.
Some of the organisms I observed were clear. One was round and shaped like a tiny ball. It moved in a circular motion. The other was a clear rod-shaped organism. I saw a couple of these. They squiggled and had snake-like motion. These could be Nematodes (Roundworms). One was near Plant B. It looked like it was either attaching itself to the plant or it was eating the plant. I saw a series of 3 clear tulip-shaped organisms that were not moving. These were located near the bottom of the MicroAquarium. I think they were single-celled Protozoa--Ciliates--Peritrichs. Another colorless organism I found in my MicroAquarium looked like an insect. It had a small round head attached to a larger rounded body. There was some type of tapered flagella coming off the end of its body. This describes the view from the top. From the side, it looked like a toenail clipping. This creature was seen at the bottom of the aquarium. It moved with a flowing motion. The last little creature I spied was a small oval-shaped organism near the bottom of the aquarium. It moved by squenching its body up.
Overall, I think there is more activity in my MicroAquarium than there was when I first set it up.
Friday
Information about The Plants in My MicroAquarium
The two plants in my MicroAquarium are Plant A and Plant B. Plant A is Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb Moss. It was collected from a natural spring at Carters Mill Park which is located in Knox County, TN on Carter Mill Road. This location is in partial shade.
Plant B is Utricularia vulgaris L. Flowering carnivorous plant. The orginial specimen was taken from the south shore of Spain Lake. This water source is located off of Camp Bella Air Rd. which is east of Sparta, TN. There are water tanks outside of the greenhouse at the Hesler Biology Building on the campus of the University of Tennessee. In these tanks, the original plant material is growing. From these growing plants is where the Plant B sample was taken.
Plant B is Utricularia vulgaris L. Flowering carnivorous plant. The orginial specimen was taken from the south shore of Spain Lake. This water source is located off of Camp Bella Air Rd. which is east of Sparta, TN. There are water tanks outside of the greenhouse at the Hesler Biology Building on the campus of the University of Tennessee. In these tanks, the original plant material is growing. From these growing plants is where the Plant B sample was taken.
Thursday
Setting up the Aquarium and Initial Observations
On Wednesday, October 14th, I set up my micro aquarium. I started by using a pipette to inject sediment and water from water source 10. This source is a water pool located below Lynnhurst Cemetery just off Adair Drive. It is spring fed and in partial shade. After I filled the mirco aquarium half way, I placed one section of Plant A and one section of Plant B in the mirco aquarium. These specimens were situated on either side of the micro aquarium so that they were not touching. Once in place, I continued to fill the reminder of my micro aquarium (almost to the top) with water from source 10.
After completion of creating my mirco aquarium, I placed it under a mircoscope for observation. There was much activity in the micro aquarium. With the naked eye, I could see the occasional organism swim by. Under the magnification of the microscope, I discovered all sorts of creatures. I viewed a small, green oval-shaped organism (which I believe to be a paramecium). It was moving across the mirco aquarium with a spiraling motion. Another organism I found was an euglenoid; this organism resembled a small blade of green grass with a red dot at the tip. The red dot is a photo sensor which the organism uses to find light. Twice I saw what appeared to be a flat creature with 2 long antenna sprouting from the anterior region. This organism resembled an insect. One last thing I saw was some type of shrimp, possibly the cousin of a Sea Monkey. It remained in the same position for quite awhile and seemed to be pulsating. Its behavior was unlike any of the other organisms I observed. Everything else seemed to dart and quickly move across my viewing area.
Overall, I observed several different types of organisms. It will be interesting to see how they interact with each other over the progression of time.
After completion of creating my mirco aquarium, I placed it under a mircoscope for observation. There was much activity in the micro aquarium. With the naked eye, I could see the occasional organism swim by. Under the magnification of the microscope, I discovered all sorts of creatures. I viewed a small, green oval-shaped organism (which I believe to be a paramecium). It was moving across the mirco aquarium with a spiraling motion. Another organism I found was an euglenoid; this organism resembled a small blade of green grass with a red dot at the tip. The red dot is a photo sensor which the organism uses to find light. Twice I saw what appeared to be a flat creature with 2 long antenna sprouting from the anterior region. This organism resembled an insect. One last thing I saw was some type of shrimp, possibly the cousin of a Sea Monkey. It remained in the same position for quite awhile and seemed to be pulsating. Its behavior was unlike any of the other organisms I observed. Everything else seemed to dart and quickly move across my viewing area.
Overall, I observed several different types of organisms. It will be interesting to see how they interact with each other over the progression of time.
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