Day 6 - 23 October 2012

23 Oct 2012 - Today I spent many hours in the lab viewing my MicroAquarium™.  Focusing and capturing images of the organisms was very challenging.  I personally feel focusing is the biggest challenge, thank you Dr. McFarland for your patience!  Anyways, I managed to capture five images of these amazing looking creatures (see pictures below).  With Dr. McFarland's assistance, I was able to identify each of the organisms.
      The majority of the microorganisms I saw belong in the Phylum Rotifera.  The Rotifera phylum is the largest taxonomic category containing the most common aqua microorganisms (Pennak, 1989).  Rotifera can be stationary or non-motile (Picture 4) or motile (Picture 3), but all have synchronized beating coronal cilia, which "suck in" food (Pennak, 1989).
     I found a number of dead carcases in the water, possibly an indication of another type(s) of predator.  The MicroAquarium™ contained many fast moving organisms, impossible to focus on, and some yellow colored worms weaving through the sediment at the bottom.  I will focus on the the sediment during my next viewing sessions.  I would like to have some pictures of the worm-like organisms.

Picture 1.  Actinosphaerium sp. is clear with  multiple spikes or spines (Pennak 1989).

Picture 2.  Cyclops sp. has a twin tail, large round body and dual horn-like antenna (Pennak 1989).

Picture 3.  Lecane sp. (phylum Rotifer) eating (sucking in) a clear stranded organism (Pennak 1989).

Picture 4.  Philodina sp. (phylum Rotifer), disc-like cilia on anterior end (corona) (Pennak 1989).

Picture 5.  Tachysoma sp. large contractual vacuole regulates internal water pressure (Patterson 1996).

Bibliography

Pennak RW. 1989. Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca. 3^rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 212 p.

Patterson DJ. 1996. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. Washington DC: ASM Press. 125 p.

MicroAquarium™ Set-up - 17 October 2012

17 Oct 2012, Day 1.  Today I set-up my MicroAquarium™(tank) for the Botany 111 Term Project.  The aquarium consists of the glass tank and a removable plastic top and base.  The top fits securely to prevent evaporation.  Colored dots designating the lab section, table, and chair are aligned vertically on the upper left side of the glass tank.  As an additional means of identification, I put my initials in the colored dots.

Picture 1: Fountain City Duck Pond, spring fed, full sun exposure
(McFarland, 2012)

Before setting up the contents of the tank, Ken McFarland presented the 12 different water sources he'd collected for the students to choose from.  I chose #11, Fountain City Duck Pond, because I'm hoping debris coming into the pond from the spring, the duck waste, and the full sun exposure will create an environment rich in unique/interesting organisms to view and study.  The pond water was collected on 9 Oct 2011, West of Broadway at Cedar Lane in Knox County, Knoxville TN (GPS N36 02.087 W83 55.967 963 ft) (McFarland, 2012).

Using a pipet, I removed enough of the bottom layer of the collected pond water to fill the bottom 1/3 of the tank, then 1/3 from the middle layer, then 1/3 from the top layer.  By filling the tank with three different layers of the collected water, I should have captured a sampling of the organisms living at different levels in the pond.  After filling the tank, I added one piece of Amblestegium sp. moss, approx. 2-3" long, collected from Natural Spring at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN, partial shade exposure, GPS coordinates N36 01.168 W83 42.832 on 9 Oct 2011 (McFarland, 2012).  I also added two pieces, varying lengths, of Utricularia gibba L, a carnivous flowering plant, collected from the south shore of Spain Lake, GPS coordinates N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00, then grown in water tanks outside of the greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building, University of Tennessee, Knox Co., Knoxville TN (McFarland, 2012).

Picture 2:  MicroAquarium™ (tank)

After completing the tank set-up, I viewed the contents under a microscope.  I saw a number of organisms moving around but I wasn't sure type of organisms they were.  Ken McFarland identified the multitude of shrimp like organisms that moved quickly in all directions and also the many round, slower, hopping type organisms, which he stated move as they expel water from its vacuoles.  The water being forced out acts like a jet moving the microorganism in what appears to be a hopping type motion.  In addition to these two organisms, I saw a few larger organisms with two green spots moving carefully (slowly) around in the tank.  I hope by next week to have the proper identification for these organisms.

Bibliography
Botany 111 Fall 2012 (Blog). Watersource: 11. Fountain City Duck Pond (cited 2012 October 20).  Available from: http://botany1112012.blogspot.com/