BIOL 111 Lab
Rebecca Wilson
October 25, 2013
Microaquarium observation #2
On a cold, overcast Tuesday, I ventured to Hesler 507 on the Hill at The University of Tennessee at Knoxville to view my micro aquarium. Before I got started I signed in and then obtained my micro aquarium in anticipation of what I would discover. For this observation I used one of the microscopes that is connected to a video camera and computer for image and video recording. Placing a micro aquarium on the microscope slide is not a ordinary microscope setup. In order to keep the contents of the micro aquarium inside, you must rotate the micro aquarium till it is laying on its side. After I focused the microscope and choose the correct lens, I found my micro aquarium in a very different state then I had found it in during the first observation. No longer were there any worms or larvae surrounding the plant material. Instead I found a high concentration of small aquatic organisms. I found these organisms to be in high numbers and concentrated in localized areas. All of these organisms were located between the central and bottom section of the micro aquarium. I found three major organisms that fit into this category.
The first organism I observed was Colpidium sp. This was the largest organism that was actively moving about and was in a relatively high population. These organisms moved about by swimming and swam about between plant material particles. Below is a video detailing their movement.
The next organism I viewed was Anisonema sp. This organism was smaller then the Colpidium sp. but was still observed to have a high population. This organism moves about by flagella, with one leading and one following (Patterson 1996). This organism tends to locate itself relatively close to green plant material.
The last organism I observed was Bodo saltans. This organism is very neat to watch because when it attaches itself to the glass of the micro aquarium it flicks itself back and forth very rapidly. This organism was observed to have a lower population than the other two organisms.
As I concluded my observation of my micro aquarium, I finished taking observational notes and turned off the microscope. The final step was to remove the micro aquarium from the microscope with out spilling it and replace the cover and bottom to it while returning it to the storage containers. I am excited to see what will happen to my micro aquarium in the future.
The next organism I viewed was Anisonema sp. This organism was smaller then the Colpidium sp. but was still observed to have a high population. This organism moves about by flagella, with one leading and one following (Patterson 1996). This organism tends to locate itself relatively close to green plant material.
The last organism I observed was Bodo saltans. This organism is very neat to watch because when it attaches itself to the glass of the micro aquarium it flicks itself back and forth very rapidly. This organism was observed to have a lower population than the other two organisms.
As I concluded my observation of my micro aquarium, I finished taking observational notes and turned off the microscope. The final step was to remove the micro aquarium from the microscope with out spilling it and replace the cover and bottom to it while returning it to the storage containers. I am excited to see what will happen to my micro aquarium in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment