Destination

Let me, again, start by apologizing for the late post. In my last observation, and my final observation, I saw a few things. First, there was far less movement than usual. I'm unsure what might have caused this, but it was much less than in the previous weeks. Despite the decrease in movement, the organisms that were still alive were quite large. Some of the rotifers in the aquarium were massive compared to their previous size.

Actinosphaerium had multiplied exponentially, visible in almost all corners of the aquarium. Cyanobacteria had also multiplied, and there were even sightings of spirogyra.

Nearing the end

During my lost observation I discovered many things. What I thought were Daphnia were, in fact, Lakane Rotifers. I also spotted some deflushia, or enclose amoeba, according to Dr. MacFarlane. Many of my organisms had grown significantly since my last post, and were quite fat. The Lakane Rotifers were the best growers, but the vorticella were also growing quickly.

I also noticed two interesting things pertaining to the invertebrates in the aquarium. First, I noticed a copepod, and secondly I saw what looked like the molted skin of an amphipod above the waterline of the aquarium.

During the time I was in the lab, the majority of my time was spent trying to learn what a particular cilliate was. Dr. MacFarlane and I spent over an hour observing it, taking photos, and filming it at a 40x objective to clearly see it's components. At the end of this time we determined that it must be a chlamydodon.

Pictures and film coming soon, I just need to get back in the lab and e-mail them to myself.


Cyanobacteria:



Chlamydodons:

Continuing down the path

First, let me apologize for the late entry. Now, onto the main event. The last observation was a good one. While the activity in my microaquarium seems to be calming down I was still able to observe several interesting things. The amphipod is still doing well, as are the many daphnia in the aquarium. The food pellet was host to a menagerie of organisms, from daphnia, to volvox, to actinosphearium.