Sources

1. Patterson D. 1996. Free Living Freshwater Protozoa. London, UK: Manson Publishing Ltd. 290 p.
2. Pennak R W. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. Toronto, Canada: John Wiley and Sons. 179 p.
3. Thorp JH, Covich AP. 1991. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego, California: Academic Press Inc. 300 p.

List of Organisms

Organism/ date first observed/ date last observed

1. Seed Shrimp/ 10-12-10/ 11-2-10
2. Philodina sp. Rotifer/ 10-26-10/ 11-10-10
3. Lecane sp. Rotifer/ 11-2-10/ 11-2-10
4. Tachysome sp. Rotifer/ 10-19-10/ 11-2-10
5. Euchlanis sp. Rotifer/ 10-12-10/ 11-10-10
6. Paranema sp. Flagellates/ 10-19-10/
7. Nematode/ 11-10-10/ 11-10-10

Patterson D. 1996. Free Living Freshwater Protozoa. London, UK: Manson Publishing Ltd. 290 p. (Figure 265 on page 125)

Thorp JH, Covich AP. 1991. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego, California: Academic Press Inc. 300 p. (Figure on page 190)

Week 5 Observations

The amount of movement in the aquarium during my week five observations appeared to correspond with the previous weeks. There seemed to have been a pattern of less movement after the past three weeks. This week I still did not see any seed shrimp, which were the easiest organisms to spot at the beginning of my observations. There were also not as many of the unidentified unicellular organisms that were gathered in large numbers a few weeks ago. This could possibly be because the food source was pretty much gone, they may have been eaten by other organisms, or they just died off. However, there still were a pretty good amount of rotifers moving around. I even spotted some Nematodes, which I had not seen in the previous weeks. With the food source completely gone, I could only imagine within the next we weeks that the rest of these organisms would die off.

Thorp JH, Covich AP. 1991. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego, California: Academic Press Inc. 300 p. (Figure 9.1 on page 250)

Week 4 Observations

In my week four observations, I recognized some familiar organisms that I had seen in the previous weeks. However, some things yet again had changed after a week. The movement in week 3 was very active, but in week four there appeared to be much less movement. This could be a result of organisms feeding on others or some might have just died. The philodina appeared to be back at work this week, however instead of feeding on other organisms it appeared to be feeding off of the food source. One thing that really surprised me this week was that there appeared to be no seed shrimp moving. In the previous weeks it had been very easy to spot the seed shrimp. There were still many of the unicellular tiny organisms around the food source, but they appeared to be fewer in number. I am very curious to see the next weeks observations to see if there is a trend in the inactivity in the aquarium.

Thorp JH, Covich AP. 1991. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego, California: Academic Press Inc. 300 p. (Figure on page 234)

Week 3 Observations

In my week three observation there had been a new and very important change to the aquarium. There was a new food pellet source that had been added to it. This created a lot of changes inside the aquarium. The food source was pretty much in the dead center of the aquarium and this caused a lot of new movement that I had not scene in the previous weeks. The living organisms in the aquarium were no longer feeding on the plants, but rather on the new food source. One of the most interesting things that I witnessed this week was a philodina rotifer. It was located very close to the food source like many of the other organisms. The philodina rotifer would expend out and capture other organisms with its jaws. It appeared to be using the food source as a way of bringing its own food to it.  There were also some other organisms that I discovered this week. However, there was no way to determine what they exactly were. But when I focused in on the highest magnification on the microscope I could see hundreds of small single cell organisms located close to the food source (McFarland).

1st source) Thorp JH, Covich AP. 1991. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego, California: Academic Press Inc. 300 p. (Figure F on page 190)

2nd source) Pennak R W. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. Toronto, Canada: John Wiley and Sons. 179 p. Figure E on page 179)

Week 2

Week 2 Observations:
In my second week of observations there appeared to be even more movement around the plants than the week before. Some of the first insects that I observed were seed shrimp. These were the largest insects that I observed during my time of observations. They would be located anywhere from on the plants, to in the dirt. They appeared to be using some plants as their food source. They would often be down deep in the dirt in the bottom of the aquarium, where there could have possibly been other food sources. I also spotted some flagellate, which had a large tail and were transparent. One of the most interested things that i observed were ciliates. I later identified what they were exactly were with the help of a book. They were identified as peranema. Peranema are a colorless euglenid which, like most other colorless euglenids, does not readily swim, but glide along the ground. It appears to only have a single, very broad, emergent flagellum (Patterson D. 1996. Free Living Freshwater Protozoa. London, UK: Manson Publishing Ltd. 290 p.)

Patterson D. 1996. Free Living Freshwater Protozoa. London, UK: Manson Publishing Ltd. 290 p. (Figure 71 on page 52)

Week 1

Procedure (Week 1):
In order to set up our MicroAquarium we were first given a glass tank, a stand holder, and a lid. We then were provided dots which indicated which Aquarium is yours. We were then allowed to pick the water source of our choice. Then, using a pipet, we abstracted some of the water and mud from the water source. We made a thin layer of mud on the bottom of the Aquarium with a sufficient amount of water on top. We then took the plants, A and B, and placed them into the MicroAquarium. Then we took the first weeks observations, which will be discussed below. After the first round of observation, we filled the Aquarium with water to about a quarter inch from the top. Then we placed a lid on the top and placed them on the tray as indicated by the instructor.

Observations (Week 1):
In my observations it was apparent right from the start that plant A had more leaves than plant B. I then focused on plant B further. I observed the bladder of plant B where it was obvious that there was a lot of movement around. Not only was there some movement on the plant, but there was a lot of extra movement outside the plant. There appeared to be several insects that made their way into the Micro Aquarium. I expect to see a lot more changes when I take my observations next week.

PLANTS A and B ADDED TO MICROAQUARIUM

Letters reference the labels on the containers in the lab. 
Plant A . Fontinalis sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/10/2010

Plant B. Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 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. 

13. Plastic Bird Bath Pool

13. Plastic Bird Bath pool . 0.9 mile from Fountain City Pond on Fountain Rd. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Partial shade exposure N 36o02.249' W083o55.999' 1121 ft 10/10/2010