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.
