Day 9 - October 25, 2013

My MicroAquarium hasn't had any drastic changes since Day 1. It seems the large unidentified nematode that was pictured and videotaped in my previous post has gone missing, and is presumed deceased. Additionally, there is a slight change in the color and perceived health of the moss and carnivorous plant. All three species of plants appear to be slightly less vibrant in color and struggling with the conditions of the system.

I was able to observe using both the microscope with a camera in place of the eyepiece lenses, and the microscope with the normal eyepiece lenses this week and both offered a unique perspective on the MicroAquarium. The microscope with normal dual eyepiece lenses allowed me to see into the system with a degree of depth that was truly amazing. I could see things like the fruit of the carnivorous plant Utricularia gibba L. in three dimensions and with enough depth and clarity to understand their shape and structure much better than with the camera based microscope used to take the pictures. I didn't see as many organisms using the microscope with normal eyepiece lenses because the magnification wasn't as strong, but I was able to see the three dimensional layout of the MicroAquarium and specifically, how the branches and leaves of the three plant species were integrated.

This week there were a few previously unseen organisms in my MicroAquarium:

Picture 1. Euplotes sp. An ovaled shaped euplotes cell with cilia on it's outer membrane and various inner structures (Patterson, 1996, p. 124 Figure 259).

Picture 2. Cyclops sp. A young cyclops lacking in egg sacks and with underdeveloped outer structures (Pennak, 1953, p. 384 Figure 241). 

Picture 3. Cyclops sp. A side-profile view of a young cyclops eating on the leaves of Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg (McFarland, 2013)(Pennak, 1953, p. 384 Figure 241). 

In general, there seemed to be more activity in my MicroAquarium this week when compared to a week ago. While the large nematode was missing, there was no shortage of small single celled organisms, and even a multicellular Cyclops sp., to replace him. As far as I could tell,there were many Euplotes sp., but only one  Cyclops sp. visible in the whole system. 

In addition to the pictured organisms, I was able to observe and identify a number of Epalxis sp. in my MicroAquarium this week (Pennak, 1953, p. 141 Figure 311). The organism can best be described as asymetrical, but generally circular in shape, and as possessing many cilia on most of it's outer membrane. The cilia appeared to assist in it's movement and in moving debris towards it for processing. 

Bibliography

Bibliography

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2013. [cited October 28, 2013]. Available from http://botany1112013.blogspot.com/

Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. Washington DC: ASM Press. 80p., 95p., 124p.,  and 173p.

Pennak RW. 1953. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States. 1st ed. New York: The Ronald Press Company. 47 p., 141p., and 384 p.

Day 1 - October 16, 2013 - Microaquarium Setup!

Today we set up our aquariums and began to observe some of the activities taking place within them!

My aquarium was filled with water from the 7th site, Third-Creek in Tyson Park (Knoxville Co. Knoxville TN Partial shade exposure. N30 57 13.53 W83 56 32.37 824 ft. 10/14/2013) (McFarland 2013).

As seen in the above picture I filled the bottom of the aquarium with about 1/2cm of sediment, and then took the water from just above the sediment in the collected sample, and transferred it to make up around 2/3 of the water. Finally, I filled the last 1/3 of my aquarium with surface water from Dr. McFarland's collected sample from Third Creek in Tyson Park.

In addition to the water and sediment from Third Creek, my aquarium has two different types of mosses, and a carnivorous plant included in it's system.

The first moss is:

Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mil Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/13/2013 (McFarland 2013).

The second moss is:

Fontinalis sp. Moss. Collected from: Holston River along John Sevier Hwy under I 40 Bridge Partial shade exposure Holston River water Shed N36 00.527 W83 49.549 823ft 10/13/2013 (McFarland 2013).

The carnivorous plant is:

Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivorous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o53 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. 10/13/2013 (McFarland 2013).

The first moss, Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg, can be identified as dark green color, while the second moss, Fontinalis sp., can be identified as a very dark reddish brown color. The carnivorous plant, Utricularia gibba L. is identified as being a light green with little black dots spread throughout the structure of the plant. These dots are dead flowers and will eventually be replaced with new growth. All three can be seen in the above picture of my aquarium (McFarland 2013).

Observations:

I was fortunate enough to observe my aquarium on the digital microscope during the very first observation session and got some really cool images and videos from it. Here are some of the pictures:

Picture 1. Unidentified Nematode moving violently.

Picture 2. Unidentified Nematode moving violently.

Picture 3. Unidentified organism moving violently.

Picture 4. Unidentified organism moving violently. 

I also got a few videos of activities:

and: