Final Observations

On Friday, November 16th I made my final observation of the Normandy. Surprisingly, my tank was still very active. I did not expect to see so much activity within my tank at this point, as many of the organisms should no longer have had a food source. About one-third of the water in the tank had evaporated since my last observation. I observed 5 nematodes, which I recognized due to a unit in another class. One of the nematodes was trapped within some debris. A water mold had also grown at the bottom of the tank. The two species of flatworms had increased population sizes. The larger, brown colored worms had a population between 15-20, up from the previous 2 from my second observation. The orange-ish flatworm population is difficult to judge, as numbers of individuals are still attached to one another. The majority of the flatworms were observed within the leaves of Myriophylla spicatum, which died between my second and third observations. I saw two female Cyclops with eggs attached, and numerous adults and juveniles throughout the tank. I observed two more gastrotrichs withing the tank: one near the debris at the bottom of the tank, and the second on a leaf of the Amblestegium moss. The water flea population also increased, although not to the previous high density of the second observation. The carnivorous Utricularia gibba became much more vibrant in color.

Third observation!

On Friday, November 9th I observed the Normandy once again. There were many carcasses at the bottom, mostly of water fleas. The population of water fleas decreased greatly from last week- a large part of the nutrients available to them was likely used up due to the population explosion. I did not see any more gastrotrichs. It is likely that the few in the Normandy were eaten by other organisms. I observed three different species of amoeba; I also identified them. I identified Vexillifera sp. and Chaos sp. using An Illustrated Guide to Protozoa (Lee, Hunter, and Bovee 1985). I identified Arcella sp. using a second guide (Patterson 1996). From Patterson's Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide I identified five other organisms: Cyclidium sp., Stentor sp., Peranema sp., Vorticella sp., and Paramecium sp.
I am still attempting to identify a number of other organisms.

Bibliography
Ed. Lee JJ, Hunter SH, and Bovee EC. 1985. An illustrated guide to the protozoa. Lawrence, Kansas: Society of Protozoologists.
Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-living freshwater protozoa: a colour guide. London: Mason Publishing Ltd.

Second Observation

 On Friday, October 26 a single Beta food pellet was inserted into the tank (McFarland 2012). "Atison's Betta Food" is made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas, and is located in Salt Lake City, UT 84104 (McFarland 2012). The pellet is composed of fish meal, wheat flour, soy meal, and krill meal, as well as vitamins, minerals, and preservatives (McFarland 2012). The pellet is approximately 36% crude protein, 4.5% crude fat, 3.5% crude fiber, 8% moisture, and 15% ash (McFarland 2012).

 On November 1st I once again observed the contents of the Normandy. There were population increases for both the water fleas and the Cyclops. I saw a female Cyclops with eggs or larva still attached to her side, which indicates that I will likely be seeing even more of them soon. Additionally, I saw no fewer than 6 new organisms that I had previously not observed within the Normandy. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a microscope with a camera that day. However, I sketched the creatures so that I would not forget them. I saw one organism, very lightly colored, which had an oblong shape with distinct head and tail regions; the tail was split into two. This creature also appeared to be spiny or hairy, and was very small. According to the Pond Life Identification Kit, this description fits well with gastrotrichs (2000). I also saw a number of small, spherical organisms with cilia around a mouth opening. There were also small, spiny or hairy spherical organisms. I saw tiny worm like creatures which were largely translucent, except for their darker heads. I also saw a long, translucent worm- it caught my eye due to its size and color - or lack thereof. The longer worms I had observed previously were orangey-brown in color. I saw another new worm which moved like an inchworm. It clasped to the edge of the tank with two foot-like tail structures, and extended its body forward.


McFarland, Kenneth. "Botany 111 Fall 2012." [cited 2012 Nov. 5]. Available from: http://botany1112012.blogspot.com
Microscopy UK. 2000. "Pond Life Identification Kit." [cited 2012 Nov. 5]. Available from: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/pond/index.html

Week 1 Observation

On Friday, Oct. 26, I went to observe the contents of the Normandy. There was a great deal of activity. I identified three different organisms, and observed a great number more. I identified Euchlanis sp., Cladocera, and Cyclops sp. (Smith 2001). I observed three Cyclops, as well as a few Euchlanis. There were quite a few Cladocera, or water fleas, generally found along the edges of the  Normandy, near the glue. I tracked one with the microscope as it moved down the side of the tank and then onto a leaf of Amblestegium.

I also observed a large number of worm-like organisms, which I have not yet identified. They appear to multiply by budding, with numerous worms still attached to one another. There were a few single-bodied worms as well. There was also one other worm-like organism, which I believe may be some kind of aquatic nematode.

There were massive numbers of flagellates, tiny organisms which could barely be seen with the microscope; they looked like springs or coils. It is possible that they appeared this way due to the speed of their movements. The masses of flagellates could be seen as cloudy areas within the Normandy.
In addition to the flagellates, there were small, spherical organisms which moved in a spiral pattern. I have not managed to identify them as of yet due to their great speed. They occurred in near the flagellates, and also near the plants in the Normandy.

Overall, most of the organisms I observed occurred in high abundance. A few of the organisms, such as the nematode and Cyclops, had relatively low abundance. I also saw a number of carcasses within the tank, and I did not observe the seed shrimp which were present after the initial set up.

Bibliography
Smith DG. 2001. Pennak's freshwater invertebrates of the United States. 4th ed. New York:  John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

The Adventure Begins

Week 1: Initial setup

My MicroAquarium was set up using a water sample from the Fountain City Duck Pond. The pond is west of Broadway at Cedar Lane in Knoxville, TN, with full sun exposure, and is spring fed (McFarland 2012).  In addition to the water, I added three aquatic plants to the MicroAquarium: Amblestegium- a moss collected from a natural spring at Carters Mill Park, Utricularia gibba- a flowering, carnivorous plant, which was originally collected from the south shore of Spain Lake, east of Sparta, TN, and then grown in water tanks outside of the greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building, on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, TN, and Myriophyllum spicatum- an aquatic plant collected from the Holston River along John Sevier Hwy (McFarland 2012).

After set up, I observed the contents of the MicroAquarium with a compound microscope. I observed several different organisms moving throughout the aquarium. Within the debris layer, I saw two organisms, relatively large in comparison to their tank-mates, which appeared to be eating the residue- these were tentatively identified as seed shrimp. I also observed a number of small, oval-shaped organisms throughout the tank which moved rapidly. There were also a few organisms, extremely swift, with a ovoid bodies, and flagellate tails- these were tentatively identified as cyclops.

Formal identification of organisms within the MicroAquarium will commence next week. Henceforth, I shall refer to the MicroAquarium as the Normandy.

Bibliography
McFarland, Kenneth. "Botany 111 Fall 2012." [cited 2012 Oct. 21]. Available from: http://botany1112012.blogspot.com