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/