Bibliography

Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-living freshwater protozoa. 1st ed. New York. Amer Society for Microbiology.  124, 125, 153 pp.

Final MicroAquarium Observation

    On my final MicroAquarium observation, I said goodbye to all my  microorganisms that had been discovered over the past four weeks.  There were no new discoveries, but I got the rest of my pictures taken.  The figures below were all found along the dirt line to the mid-section of the aquarium and all of them were mobile.  There were no larger organisms such as worms or larvae to report
.

Figure 3. (Patterson, 1996)

Figure 4. (Patterson, 1996)

Figure 5. (Patterson, 1996)

  I thought this was a very interesting project, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. 

Bibliography

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [11/12/2013]. Available    from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-living freshwater protozoa. 1st ed. New York. Amer Society for Microbiology.      124, 125, 153 pp.

Pennak Robert. 1978. Freshwater invertebrates of the united states. 2nd ed. New York. Ronald Press.  154-165 pp.

Observation Week Three

  On my third trip to visit my MicroAquarium, I took pictures of my microorganisms to further their identification.  I found many dead diatoms, Euglena, Amoeba, Chlorella, Euplote, desmids, Paramecium, Gastrotrich, and Tachysoma.  There were no large organisms found in my MicroAquarium anywhere.  Most of my microorganisms could be found in the mid to lower region of the aquarium, but there were a few diatoms and desmids in the upper region.
  There does not seem to be any significant change in the plant life of the aquarium.  There is a wide variety of microorganisms living in my MicroAquarium; however, there are just as many mobile organisms as immobile. There are a few chlorophyll containing organisms.
  Below are two of the three images taken on my visit.  The third will be uploaded with my next blog entry because there were some technical issues.

Figure 1. (Pennack, 1978)

Figure 2. (Patterson, 1996)

Observation Week Two

On my second visit to my MicroAquarium after setup, much had changed.  Organisms seem to be appearing at an incredible rate.  Where at first I only saw diatoms and desmids, now I see many other organisms such as gastrotich, epilaxis (sp?), and rotifers to name a few.  Next visit will consist of finding specific species of these microorganisms and a few pictures.  Many of the gastrotrich were in the central region of the aquarium, the rotifers tend to be found more along the dirt line, and the diatoms/ desmids are found through out.  The plant life has not changed as far as my observation can tell.  However, the organisms are more varied than I named, but most were moving to quickly for me to identify.  I am hoping to be able to get a better look under the more powerful microscope on my next visit.  Most of my organisms seem to single-celled though.  A few have cilia or flagella and a few of them have chlorophyll.  I suspect there is some sort of worms, but nothing is certain at this point.

Observation Week One

On my first official observation after set up not much had changed.  I discovered that the ciliated protozoa were just various diatoms.  Many were a lime green or brown color.  Their shapes varying from spherical to oblong.  Most of the diatoms were found on the soil level.  No movement was recorded from mid to upper water level.  The plants themselves appear unchanged as well.  

Set up of MicroAquarium and First Observations

  On October 15th, I set up my MicroAqurium for Botany 111. To do so we assembled the stand, glass tank, and lid.  After labeling our tank with our initials, we selected a water source. I chose source ten which was a water pool below a spring. The exact location and information for the water is Lynnhurst Cemetery off of Adair Drive. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Partial shade exposure Spring Feed Pond N36 01.357 W83 55.731 958 ft 10/9/2011. I extracted water from the sample with a pipette, ensuring that I acquired some sediment and surface water for an accurate representation of the natural life.
  After the tank was 3/4 of the way full I added my plant life which was a small strand of Utricularia gibba which is a flowering carnivorous plant taken from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00), Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta Tn. in White Co. and then grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. 10/13/2013. I also added small amounts of Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg which is a moss from Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/13/2013.
  After my plants were added, I had the opportunity to observe my MicroAquarium under a microscope. I found many organisms resembling diatoms and algea.  I am not positive of the exact species of either because I have not had a chance to observe under a stronger microscope yet.  There may also be some flagellates or ciliated protozoa, but there is no confirmation of that yet.  Hopefully a later observation will be able to clarify my findings.