Observation 3: October 30, 2008

Introduction
From 1:15ish till 2:15ish p.m., I observed most of the same algae as last week and a lot more protozoan creatures. This is probably due to the food pellet that was added, according to http://botany1112008.blogspot.com/, Thursday October 24, 2008. Specifically, it was a "pellet of "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%."

Vorticella
The first organism I could identify was a Vorticella, which closed up its form when we tapped the glass of the aquarium. Below is a picture, taken in the mid / upper level of water, near the moss plant, Amblystegium varium.

Gastrotrich
Later I could identify a type of Gastrotrich, though I'm not sure whether it's a chaetonotus or a different type (Rainisk and Russel, 1996). He was a steady-paced little fellow, kind of hard to keep track of. Below are photos, taken in the same area of the aquarium as the vorticella. Later, I may be able to post a video clip following the Gastrotrich.













Entosiphon
Lower in the aquarium, closer to the sediment, I saw what I believe was an Entosiphon, referencing Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa (Patterson 2003). It is a unicellular organism with two flagella, both of which whip around (versus one dragging behind) for its movement.

Halteria
In multiple areas I identified Halterias, small but quick-moving ciliates, by referencingGuide to Microlife (Rainisk and Russel, 1996). Below is a photo with the Halteria labeled near a clump of presumably organic material close to the mud layer of the aquarium.











Scendedesmus
In my last blog entry, I noted this diatom, Scendedesmus, which, again, reminds me of the look of stacked grana in a plant. At last, I took a picture of the organism, in the same clump of matter that I photographed the Halterias.

Spike
Finally, my fascination for the day was a creature I sadly didn't get time to identify (though you can bet I will). Earlier, when I was observing small worm-like microorganisms along the moss plant, a huge shadow darted across the screen, and when I refocused, I snapped some images featured below. I'm naming it Spike, for now, (and the worms I'll call Floatsome, after the eels on the Little Mermaid). It moves fast, changes direction easily and quickly, and has a remarkable tail-structure. I think I filmed it, and if so, I will post when available.



Crystal and Angel
Further unidentified organisms include a stationary object with a crystal / star shape and purple hue that was hard to focus on in the microscope. I'm calling it Crystal, and have an image below, photographed near the clump of organic material mentioned here for the third time (I'll call it The Clump #2). Then, there was nearby organism, possibly unicellular, with a unique shape that reminds me of the body of an angel fish (minus the fins, that is), and I did manage to film and photograph it, though the image is blurry due to the creature's steady motion. I'm naming it Angel until identified.

And that's all this week, folks. Wish me Bona Fortuna in correctly identifying some of creatures.

Sources

Rainisk K.G., Russel B.J. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Danbury (Connecticut): Franklin Watts. p. 96, 106, 175-178, fig. 32, 78.

Patterson DJ. 2003. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa a Colour Guide. Washington D.C.: ASM Press.

Observation 2: October 23, 2008

This Thursday from 1-2:00 p.m. I made the following observations and recordings.

Close to the bottom layer, I saw a number of algae. All of the ones that I observed in great detail were diatoms, from jack-shape to rod-like. One I determined was Scendedesmus (Forest 1954), with stacked, bulbous green discs and a filmy layer around it as it remained stationary. Harder to identify was something that was a free-moving type of algae that looked like a yellowish grub beneath the microscope, with a purple/red-hued line running from front to back. This may have been one of two genus seen in Algae of Illinois, Cymbella or Epithemia (L.H. Tiffany and M.E. Britton 1952).

These diatoms appeared, actually, all throughout the layers of water.

Nearby, I saw an exciting shelled amoeba (Patterson 2003), with green pseudopods reaching out to engulf food.

I may have seen some paramecium, and one other organism that I couldn't quite identify (like a work, with a whiplike tentacle or flagellum that would attach to plant particles as the mouth end flailed around eating things), but I'll need more research to say for sure.

Perhaps the most exciting thing I saw was a type of protozoa, bell-shaped and connected to a branch of tentacles (I think), with whirring cilia around its base, determined to be an Epistylus genus of ciliate (Patterson).

Next time, I should be observing the results of inserting a food pellet, stimulating this pond life... a lot!

Sources

Forest HS. 1954. handbook of Algae. Knoxville (TN): University of Tennessee Press. p. 135.

Britton ME, LH Tiffany. 1952. Algae of Illinois. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press.276, 282

Patterson DJ. 2003. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa a Colour Guide. Washington D.C.: ASM Press. p 23, 112.

Introduction and Set-Up Observations

Welcome to Takusan, where plants photosynthesize...a lot!

To be entirely straightforward, the purpose of this blog is to publicly record observations on a MicroAquarium of pond life over the course of several weeks.

This MicroAquarium was set up on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at roughly 2:30 p.m. I chose bottom-level water and sediment from dishes 5 and 6, while the middle and top layers of water were from only dish 6. I also inserted pieces of plants A and B. When observed under the microscope, I believe I saw diatoms, algae, an anthropod, some protozoa, and plant life.

I will be updating with fuller, better, and more accurate data as the lab progresses, so check by later for some exciting gossip from this pond life!

UPDATED 10/24/08:
Dish 5, which is part of the sediment-level of my aquarium, was taken from "Holston River along John Sevier Hwy under I 40 Bridge," with "partial shade exposure Holston River water Shed N36 00.527 W83 49.549 823 ft 10/12/2008" (according to http://botany1112008.blogspot.com/)

Dish 6, which makes up all levels of my aquarium, has the following description from the same URL as above: "Meads Quarry, Island Home Ave, Knox Co. Tennessee Partial shade exposure Rock Quarry N35 57.162 W83 51.960 880 10/12/2008"

Updated 10/31/08:
The plants inserted (this information also taken from the same blog mentioned above) were:

A: Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. Fountain City Park west of Broadway at Hotel Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Partial shade exposure. N 36o02' 15.18" W083o55' 59.95"988 ft. 10/13/2008

B: Utricularia vulgaris L. Flowering Plant. A carnivous plant. Collection from: Greenhouse in White Ave Biology Annex. The University of Tennessee. 1400 White Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN.Partial shade exposure N 35o57' 33.45" W083o55' 42.01". 932 ft 10/13/2008