11/16 4th Observation

There is not much to say for this observation, because there was hardly anything going on in my micro-aquarium on thursday. However, there were a few things, some not very interesting, but I did find (well actually Dr. McFarland found it) a "Loxodes" (figure 280, page 131, Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa). It looked similar to many of the other organisms roaming around, but when I got a closer look, it did appear to be different. I acquired some information on it from one of the books in the room. "The edge that supports the mouth (with extrosomes) is convexly curved. The aboral edge of the body bears warts. A long canal extends from the lateral contractile vacuole and along that edge of the body" (131, Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa). 

At the bottom activity has been decreasing since week 3, and this week there was virtually nothing except for a few nematodes and rotifers roaming. However, there were hundreds of diatoms lined up randomly all along the bottom layer between the plants and scum layer. 

Plant "A" seemed to have almost all living activity surrounding it. There were countless cilia, and also some nematodes and rotifers. I am not sure why so much of the remaining organisms surrounded plant "A". Possibly because it was the only source of nutrients for the organisms. 

Citation:

Patterson, D.J. . Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. Washington D.C.: Manson Publishing, 2003.

Third Observation 11/9

The First thing I noticed (before I looked under the microscope) was that the water level was much lower than it was from last week. There was also a lot of dirt scattered throughout like someone had shaken it up. 

When I looked under the microscope I saw that it looked like an earthquake had come through. The scum layer on the bottom was smaller, and there was scum scattered all over the bottom layer. 

The third thing I noticed was that there was not as much activity towards the bottom as there had been in previous weeks. However, I did see what I think were two nematodes. They were different from each other. One had very spastic-like and jerky movements and I lost sight of it. The second one was longer and less spastic than the first. 

The fourth thing I saw was the biggest organism I have seen yet. It was a midge. I moved across and all I saw at first was huge blob. I was able to follow it once I got an idea for how big it was. I believe it was a larvae. 

"The midges constitute undoubtedly the largest single complex of aquatic Diptera. Their larvae, with no better apparatus than a few blood gills at the end of the abdomen, and their pupae, with nothing better than "tube gills" protruded from the prothoracic spiracles, are able to live in all waters, " (Fresh Water Biology, 914). 

Citations:

Ward, Henry, and George Whipple. Fresh Water Biology. 1st. New York: John 

Wiley and Sons Inc., 1918.

11/2 Second Observation

The first organisms that caught my attention were two worm-like organisms swimming near the top of the scum. I don't know what they were, but they appeared to be the same species according to their looks. 

The second organism that caught my eye was a nematode. It was swimming by itself, and feeding (or at least it looked like it was feeding). Nematodes have become adapted to an astounding variety of habitats (Fresh Water Biology, 459). 

There was a shell rotifer (Fresh Water Biology, 619) swimming in and out of the scum near the nematode. It almost looked like it was it was hiding from the nematode.

There were many diatoms (Fresh Water Biology, 125) all around the bottom layer near the scum. They were too manny to count, but there were many small ones and a few very large ones that looked like rectangles. The large ones were green with black centers in each cell. 

The most interesting organism I saw was a Nauplis of Cyclops (Fresh Water Biology, 744). They are flat, oval creatures, without any division of the body in the cephalothrax and abdomen, with only three pairs of a appendages (Fresh Water Biology, 744). It had very short, jittery, and quick movements. Below is a picture of the Nauplis of Cyclops. 

There was still very little activity towards the top. 

Citations:

Ward, Henry, and George Whipple. Fresh Water Biology. 1st. New York: John 

Wiley and Sons Inc., 1918.

First Observation 10/24

On my first observation of my micro-aquarium I saw many interesting things. The first organism (and the most interesting one) I saw was a Copepod. It looked like a horseshoe crab. I thought it was most interesting because it was the most complex organism I saw. I learned it was a copepod from the poster in the room. 

The second organisms I saw had the Phylum: Gastrotricha, Genus: Lepidodermella (Guide to Microlife, 1996). They had two distinct tales, and are found in soils, sands, and surfaces of brown muds (which is where i saw them). They lack circulatory, respiratory, and skeletal systems (Guide to Microlife, 1996). 

Another organism I saw in my observation was a Tachysoma. There were many of these organisms on the top layer of scum at the bottom of the micro-aquarium (Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa, 2003).

The last organism I saw, and the biggest, was a long, skinny, worm-looking organism known as a Aeolsoma (Fresh Water Biology, 1918). It appeared to be digging its way through the scum. 

Citations:

Rainis, Kenneth, and Bruce Russell. Guide to Microlife. 1st. Danbury, 

Connecticut: Grolier, 1996.

Patterson, D.J.. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. 1st. Washington D.C.: 

Manson, 2003.

Ward, Henry, and George Whipple. Fresh Water Biology. 1st. New York: John 

Wiley and Sons Inc., 1918.