Observations 11/12/14

During my observations on 11/12/14, I noticed the activity had seemed to have dropped considerably even more. I was having a difficult time finding some of the larger microorganisms. It appeared as though the majority of them had died while the smaller ones were beginning to take over.I did see 2 rotifers and a few cilia.
With assistance, I was able to identify two organisms as you will see below. Both were located in the lower middle of the microaquarium.

The picture below is of a Centropyxis sp.(Patterson Fig. 184 pg. 96). This is a shelled amoeba with eats bacteria.This amoeba's pseudopodia comes out its aperture (circular opening in the center of the amoeba) enabling the amoebae to crawl around on a surface. Its peristome extends for one-half the body length. The contractile vacuole is anteriorly located. It has two ovoid macronuclei (EOL 2014).

The picture below is of the second organism I identified. It is a Litonotus sp (Patterson Fig. 286 pg. 133). About one third of its body is contractile. It's movement is similar to a slow glide. This ciliate consumes many different kinds of prey such as Euplotidium (Margulis 2002).

Observations 11/5/14

During my observations on 11/5/14, I noticed that the activity of the smaller living organisms was up from last week. Most of these organisms were in the lower middle section of the aquarium around the plant material. There also appeared to be quite a few large, dead organisms. As you can see  in the video below, there was a feeding frenzy on one of them. We were unable to determine whether or not it was bacteria feeding on this organism.

In addition to what we believe was a dead or dying Euchlanis Rotifer being consumed, I also observed several smaller rotifers in the aquarium.
I did get to observe two new microorganisms I had not seen before. One of which was a Difflugia (Patterson 1996). This is an amoeba. It's pseudopodia will extend and contract, and it will also move with one extended. These use these to capture prey. Most are heterotrophs.





The second new organism I observed was a Synedra Diatom (Heurck 1962). These diatoms are "linear to lanceolate with rounded to capitate ends" (IDUS 2014). They are a part of the Fragilariaceae family. Unfortunately it has proven to be very difficult to find information about this specific diatom due to it being "a rather obscure and seldom documented diatom" (BN 2014).

Observations for 10/29/14

Prior to my observations...

Beta Food Pellet added to each Microaquarium

On Friday October 24, 2014 "ONE" Beta Food Pellet was inserted into each microaquarium. "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%.

During my observations on 10/29/14, I noticed the aquarium appeared to have some decomposing matter within it. The water appeared less clear than on the initial day of observations when it was assembled. The activity and amount of living organisms appeared to have decreased as well. With assistance, I was able to identify a Euchlanis Rotifer (Pennak, 1989). These rotifers have cilia at the front of their bodies that looks similar to a moving wheel when they are moving. This species also has a clear body with two flagella behind them to help them propel through the water. The usually eat bacteria, debris, and small protozoans (M.E. 2014).
Additionally, I also observed a Euplotes walking on the side of a section of plant material (Patterson 1996). This organism belongs to the phylum Ciliophora and has the ability to both walk and swim. It is covered with rows of cilia which help propel it though the water. This organism has two types of nuclei: a macronucleus and one or more micronuclei (Microscopyu, 2014).

Finally, I observed a Macrochaetus rotifer as seen in the picture above (Pennak, 1989). Like other rotifers, this one also uses cilia to propel itself through the water.

Bibliography

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2014. [cited ADD DATE]. Available from http://botany1112014.blogspot.com/

MicroMagnetFSU[Internet]. [M.E.] Molecular Expressions; c1995-2013 [cited 2014 Nov. 3]. Available from: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/techniques/dic/dicgallery/euchlanissmall.html

MicroscopyU[Internet]. [MicroscopyU] The Source for Microscopy Education; c2000-2013 [cited 2014 Nov.3] Available from: http://www.microscopyu.com/moviegallery/pondscum/euplotes/

Pennak RW. 1989. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. 3rd Ed.


Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. Spaulding, S., and Edlund, M. (2008). Synedra. In Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/Synedra

NaturalistNewsletter[Internet]. [BN] Backyard Nature. [cited 2014 Nov. 10] Available from: http://www.backyardnature.net/n/x/diatom3.htm

http://eol.org/pages/490051/overview

http://books.google.com/books?id=DS-VehE00ncC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=litonotus+eats&source=bl&ots=2BbYDOto4i&sig=YMEOf05zA44AFJMgbkQ5MyMeONw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=au5oVPrtNZWeyATirILoDw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=litonotus%20eats&f=false

Materials and Methods

Materials and Methods: Prior to setting up my MicroAquarium, I chose my water source. I chose water source number two which was from the French Board River, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge. After obtaining my MicroAquarium, I applied three colored sticker circles indicating my lab section, table, and seat number. I then proceeded to apply my initials to each dot to avoid in confusion in the future. Next, I acquired a pipet and extracted water in three parts: first from the bottom of the sample making sure to include some sediment, second from the middle layer of the sample, and third from the surface of the sample. I then proceeded to add two plant materials to the MicroAquarium that you will find listed below.

Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss.
Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/12/2014
Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A
carnivorous plant. Original material 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 grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville TN.
10/12/20 (McFarland, 2014).

Finally, I applied lid which I had previously added two small dots of Bluestik to insure a proper seal.

Location of Water Source: French Broad River, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Lane , Knox Co. Tennessee. Partial shade exposure French Broad River Water Shed N35 56.742 W83 41.628 841 ft 10/12/2014 (McFarland, 2014).