On Thursday October 22nd I had the opportunity to observe my MicroAquarium once again. This time was far more interesting. This time I was able to see many things that were not visible the first time around.
This time I saw what believe to be didinium, which are small round organisms. The aquarium had many, many of these floating and moving around. It was also home to what appeared to be many colonies of small organisms. These colonies seemed to be parts of plants that would sometimes contain hundreds of tiny spinning creatures.
The arthropod from last week was still there, and I've learned that it is an amphipod. It has decided to create a small burrow in the silt at the bottom of the aquarium and eat any of the other organisms unfortunate enough to wander past.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Hi Ho! The adventure begins!
The first steps in our adventure into plants involved creating a MicroAquarium. These MicroAquariums consist of a tiny glass case filled with water from different water sources, a base, and a lid. We also placed silt taken from the same source into the bottom of the aquarium, and then one sample of two different plants.
For my MicroAquarium I chose water sample 8:
8. Tennessee River at boat ramp across from Knoxville sewer plant. Neyland Dr. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Full sun exposure. French Broad and Holston Rivers water Sheds N35 56.722 W83 55.587 813 ft 10/11/2009
And the following plants:
Plant A . Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/11/2009Plant B. Utricularia vulgaris 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.
After this initial setup we were to observe our MicroAquariums under a microscope. In mine I saw many small protists and bacterium, and even an arthropod that was visible to the naked eye.
For my MicroAquarium I chose water sample 8:
8. Tennessee River at boat ramp across from Knoxville sewer plant
8. Tennessee River at boat ramp across from Knoxville sewer plant. Neyland Dr. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Full sun exposure. French Broad and Holston Rivers water Sheds N35 56.722 W83 55.587 813 ft 10/11/2009
And the following plants:
Plant A . Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/11/2009Plant B. Utricularia vulgaris 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.
After this initial setup we were to observe our MicroAquariums under a microscope. In mine I saw many small protists and bacterium, and even an arthropod that was visible to the naked eye.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)