references 11-8-11

Patterson DJ.  1996.  Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa.  London (UK): Manson Publishing Ltd.  223p.

Pennak RW.  1953.  Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States.  New York (NY): The Ronald Press Company.  769p.

observations 11-8-11

Today I noticed a marked decrease in life in my aquarium, especially in protists.  Near the soil line, I saw one Closterium, a couple Phacus triqueter, and many diatoms.  I also identified Epalxis sp., a ciliate that likes to go in circles (Patterson 1996, p. 141 fig. 311).  I had seen Epalxis during previous observations, but it was less abundant and I was unable to identify it.  Epalxis could be found throughout the aquarium.  Vorticella, Peranema, and Chlamydodon, however, had disappeared completely.  Invertebrates were still quite abundant.  I saw the usual Cyclops and Euchlanis, in addition to a new species, Aeolosoma sp. (Pennak 1953, p. 288 fig. 183)  Aeolosoma, an annelid, was decomposing the top half of my Utricularia plant, which was dead because half of the water had evaporated out of my aquarium.  During this fourth and last observation, the quantity and variety of life had declined, probably due to food becoming scarce.

references 11-3-11

Forest HS.  1954.  Handbook of Algae.  Knoxville (TN): UT Press.  467p.

Lee JJ, Hutner SH, and Bovee EC.  1985.  Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa.  Lawrence (KS): Allen Press, Inc.  629p.

Rainis KG and Russell BJ.  1996.  Guide to Microlife.  Danbury (CT): Franklin Watts.  287p.

observations 11-3-11

Yesterday I observed all of the organisms mentioned previously without any drastic changes in population sizes.  Like last week, however, I found several new organisms.  Near my Utricularia plant, I saw a pair of invertebrates, Philodina sp., feeding (Rainis and Russell 1996, p.188).  Like Vorticella, Philodina has a mouth lined with cilia that suck up food.  Under the microscope, however, Philodina appears to have two lateral "jaws" like a beetle that it can extend and retract.  Once again, I saw a lone Phacus triqueter, but this time I also identified another species, Phacus longicaudus (Forest 1954, p.294 fig. 414).  As the name implies, the distinguishing characteristic of  P. longicaudus is its tail, which is about as long as its body.  This week I also saw an amoeba (Amoeba sp.) in my aquarium for the first time (Lee, Hutner, and Bovee 1985, p. 161 fig.1).  When I first observed it, the amoeba was in its radiate, free-floating form, but it gradually transformed.  Here is a picture of the radiate form:

Lee, Hutner, and Bovee 1985, p. 161 fig.1

references 10-25-11

Corliss JO.  1979.  The Ciliated Protozoa.  2nd ed.  Elmsford (NY): Pergamon Press Inc.  455p.

Forest HS.  1954.  Handbook of Algae.  Knoxville (TN): UT Press.  467p.

Patterson DJ.  1996.  Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa.  London (UK): Menson Publishing Ltd.  223p.

observations 10-25-11

On October 25, I observed an explosion in the number and diversity of microscopic organisms in my aquarium.  This rapid growth was probably fueled by the beta food pellet.  Like the previous week, I saw Euchlanis sp., a couple Cyclops sp., and Amphora sp., but I also saw many new organisms as well.

I found Vorticella sp., which has a ciliated mouth that sucks up any small organisms or debris, much like a vacuum cleaner (Corliss 1979, p.289 Plate 29).  Vorticella liked to tether itself (yes it has a tether) to my plants, but I occasionally saw it free-floating, too. 

I saw a small, oval ciliate that was approximately one-tenth the size of Euchlanis.  It could be found throughout the aquarium.  This ciliate was very difficult to identify because it moved fairly fast, it was small, and it had few distinguishing features.  Nevertheless, I am reasonably confident that it was Chlamydodon sp. (Patterson 1996, p. 135 figs. 293 & 294)

Small euglenoids, which I identified as Peranema sp., could be found throughout the aquarium as well (Patterson 1996, p.51 figs. 70-72).  Peranema's distinguishing feature (a cool one, too!) is it's thick, highly visible anterior flagellum.  This flagellum is of particular interest because about three-fourths of it is completely rigid; only the tip moves.  Like a propeller, the flagellum pulls Peranema along at a relatively leisurely pace.

Near the soil, I saw a lone Phacus triqueter (Forest 1954, p.296 fig. 419).  It was green and round, with a short curved tail and a red eyespot.  Somewhat like a green piglet.  It did not move while I was watching it.

Finally, I saw thousands of tiny protists, which I was unable to identify because they were too small (about one-fourth the size of Chlamydodon).  Even on high power (40x) no distinguishing features could be seen.  I believe they were flagellates, because their motion was somewhat jerky.  I suspect that their abundance was due to the food pellet.

Beta Food 10-21-11

On October 21, one Beta Food Pellet was added to each aquarium.  Here is some information on the pellet:
"Atison's Betta Food" made by Ocean Nutrition, Aqua Pet Americas, 3528 West 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84104. Ingredients: Fish meal, wheat flower, soy meal, krill meal, minerals, vitamins and preservatives. Analysis: Crude Protein 36%; Crude fat 4.5%; Crude Fiber 3.5%; Moisture 8% and Ash 15%. 

references 10-20-11

References

Douglas GS.  2001.  Pennak's Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States.  4th ed.  New York (NY): John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  638p.  

Forest HS.  1954.  Handbook of Algae.  Knoxville (TN): UT Press.  467p.

 Rainis KG and Russell BJ.  1996.  Guide to Microlife.  Danbury (CT): Franklin Watts.  287p.

observations 10-20-11

On Thursday I took pictures of my aquarium under the microscope for the first time.  I saw a smorgasbord of life that is completely invisible to the unaided eye.  Among the organisms I identified are Cyclops sp. (Rainis and Russell 1996, p.204), Euglena helicoideus (Forest 1954, p. 283), and Euchlanis sp. (Douglas 2001, p. 142-143).  Here are some pictures that I took of these organisms.

Rainis and Russell 1996, p.204

Forest 1954, p. 283

Douglas 2001, p. 142-143

aquarium set up

On Tuesday October 11 we set up our MicroAquariums.  First we had to find the right combination of base, aquarium, and lid so that they would fit together snugly.  Next we placed color-coordinated dots on our aquarium so that we can tell them apart; my color code is dark blue, dark blue, red.

Then we filled our aquarium with one of twelve water and soil samples.  My water and soil came from Mead's Quarry, an abandoned quarry in South Knoxville that has since filled with rainwater to form a large pond.  The quarry is under partial shade due to trees lining one shore and a high bluff on the other.  The quarry is near Ijams Nature Center on Island Home Avenue, and its exact coordinates are as follows: <N35 57.162 W83 51.960 880>.  The sample was taken on October 9, 2011.

Finally, we added two plants, Amblestegium sp. (a moss) and Utricularia gibba L. (a carnivorous flowering plant)  The Amblestegium sample was collected on October 9, 2011, from a natural spring at Carters Mill Park, on Carter Mill Road in Knox County, Tennessee.  The coordinates of the collection site are as follows: <N36 01.168 W83 42.832>.  The site was partially shaded.  Utricularia was originally gathered from the south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00) on Camp Bella Air Road east of Sparta, Tennessee, in White County.  The sample has since been grown in water tanks outside of the greenhouse behind the Hesler Biology Building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

I placed U. gibba on the left and Amblestegium sp. on the right.  We briefly observed our aquariums under the microscope.  I saw several creatures swimming around, but I didn't have time or knowledge enough to identify them.