Bibliography

Pennak, Robert W. 1989. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States- Prozoa to Mollusca

Patterson. D.J. 1992. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa

Observation 3

This past week I was able to capture many different organisms on camera. Many of these freshwater protozoa. Along with these organisms I also noticed how much more bacteria and cyanobacteria had popped up. Most of the plants in the microaquarium had turned brown. The food plot was also diminished. Here are some pictures that I was able to capture:

 

This is a picture of a Vorticella. This organism is supported by the stalk like structure that is attached to it. This keeps it in place and pulls the organism out of harms way when predators are near. (Patterson 1992. Pg. 113)

 This is a centropyxis, a species of amoeba. It stays mostly stationary with very little movement. (Patterson 1992. Pg. 95 Fig. 184)

 

This is a shot of a Chaetonotus, which is a type of gastrotricha. It moves around very quickly and is very hard to get an image of this. This particular one seemed to be slowed down looking for food. 

(Pennak 1989 Pg. 165)

Second Observation 10/30

My second observation of my microaquarium was a lot different than my first. There was a lot more life that had formed. I was able to observe a ton more organisms this time around. Many were a lot bigger than before and there was a ton of movement. There were several organisms that I was able to identify while looking at the aquarium under the microscope the first one I spotted was a Euplotes (Patterson 1992 pg. 124). As you can see in picture 1 it looks like it has some fibers that are connected all around its body. I believe these are to help it move. It was very active and was difficult to capture a picture of. It repeatedly dashed in an out of the plant foliage I had put in my aquarium. It seemed to be feeding. I also was able to identify another organism during this observation. It is commonly referred to as an Amoeba (Patterson 1992 pg. 98). This organism wasn't as active as the Euplotes. It stayed in the same spot for quite a while. There seemed to be a lot of movement going on inside the organism. It can be viewed in picture 2.


Picture 1

Picture 2

Microaquarium setup and First Observation 10/20

Our first lab period that introduced us to the term project involved the setup of our own microaquarium. Dr. Mcfarland provided all the materials. He had collected water samples from close to a dozen different areas and several different kinds of plants to fill our microaquariums with. To start off we took a double wide microscope slide that was put together and provided by Dr. McFarland. He also provided us with a base and a lid that would hold it in place and keep the water from evaporating out. After we got all the materials in place we then filled our microaquariums with water and plants. I chose water that was collected from the Holston River in Knoxville, TN N36 00.527 W83 49.549 823 ft 10/12/2014. The plant that I chose to inhabit my aquarium is known as Ultricuilaria Gibba (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00) and was collected from Spain Lake in Sparta TN. After we put it all together we were able to take a quick glance of it under the microscope. There were several little organisms zipping around. I did not see anything very big. Most of the life was tiny even looking through a microscope. Everything was moving so quickly it was hard to get a real good look at most of the organisms. I am hoping to have better luck in my next observation.