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