Swan Song

This post signifies the last huzzah I was able to have with my tiny ecosystem. And, as promised, i spent the greater part of my inspection on the bottom of the MicroAquarium where all the soil was settled. I only discovered one new organism in this area. While the populations of the rotifers and cyclidium are still thriving, not many new organisms were growing.

Planarian (Ward, figure 12/13)

The organism I did find, however, Is called a Planarian (Ward, figure 12/13). At first, I didn't realize this was actually a creature to begin with, as with it's positioning it was under a root, but then it moved. The only way I can describe the movement of this cilia-rimmed organism is basically just as a sack of halfway solidified jello. The one pictured was the largest I could find, as the others buried themselves too far in the soil to be able to correctly observe.
Overall, the rest of the Aquarium had grown to the point where it was extremely difficult to see through the plant growth, especially in the lower quadrant of the Aquarium.

The Fourth Little Week...

This week started with frighteningly low water levels. This lead to some half-dried half-dead organisms scattered along the top part of the slide. I was worried that all my water would be gone before the experiment ended. Luckily, this was righted and my worries were dashed at the end of my observations when we all were allowed to insert more water into the slide. The plants continue to grow, so much so that in some parts of my little ecosystem, it's almost impossible to focus on the organisms feeding off them. 

Well, I was correct about the development of the Rotifers. They are all over the place, and exceedingly entertaining to watch. The way they move is interesting, and since their bodies are basically transparent, it's very interesting to watch them eat, since you can see everything that goes into their bodies and where it goes. The particular type I've found is Euchlanis dialatata. (Pennak, 171 figure 2)

Rotifer Euchlanis dialatata (Pennak, 171 figure 2)

However, I was wrong in my other assumptions. What I've found is Cyclidium (Patterson, 149) And let me tell ya, they are all over the place. Last week, I started to see them growing in numbers, but boy was I unprepared for what I saw this time. They were swarming all over the MicroAquarium.

Cyclidium (Patterson, 149, figure 332)

And just to show a very small fraction of how many there are in the aquarium, I've also made a video at a very low power to show how insane they are swimming around in there.

Cyclidium (Patterson, 149, figure 332)

Next week, I intend to look closer to the soil at the base of the slide to find out what's happening down there, and to escape the ever-growing plants. 

Third Time's the Charm

            On the fateful day of  October 24, 2014 a pellet of  "Atison's Betta Food" was inserted into my little aquarium. This particular pellet was 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%
           Surprisingly, even with this new development, the growth in the animal life was slightly disappointing, The growth of both the Amblestegium varium and the Utricularia gibba (McFarland, 2014) was a much more substantial and noticeable difference than that of the organisms that actually feed on the plants themselves. So much so that the new, tubular-type roots growing from the plants made it a bit more difficult to see.
            With that said, I made sure to check up on the organisms I had already found and made notes on. The Nematode population is increasing at what appears to be at a normal rate, as I found several different juveniles swimming around with the adults, however I never found any deceased. I know there weren't that many to begin with, I still find it strange. I've yet to understand whether they just haven't died yet, or they have already been "disposed of" by other organisms; or if there are other, predator nematodes in my little ecosystem I haven't found yet.
            The Limnais sp. and Scantor population seems to have dwindled since I made note of it last week. This may be because of the growth of the plants make the existing life there seem smaller, or because of the growth of other microorganisms. On that note, some newer organisms appear to be Gastrotrichs, Rotifers, and Euplotes sp. Pictures and videos on these with further inspection will follow next week.

The Second Look

It's been a week and two days since the creation of the Micro Aquariums and I am very pleased to say that there has been plenty of development in my tiny ecosystem. For instance, I thought I had seen a few nematodes swirling around, and with this new observation, there were about fifteen, which completely surpassed my expectations. Following one particularly large nematode and observing it's snacking habits, I focused the lens strangely and saw something shaped like a bugle. The chip. One end was opened and the other closed down and attached to the leaves of this plant. The opened wide end seemed to wave cilia around in the water to suck other organisms or plant matter into them, and then it would collapse onto the plant for a fraction of a second and open back up. It also compresses in this matter when it is messed with, shown to me when the nematode I was watching had poked at it. This organism is a Stentor, and there were a TON of them- I'd say there was one on every third leaf in the aquarium.  

Stentor (Pennak, 67 figure 3)

Sticking with the organisms stuck on the plants, I found another one that I can only describe the shape of as a set of gears. From what I could tell, the two sides worked by spinning inward to catch matter in them, and occasionally envelope into itself and open back out. (As shown in the video) This organism is Limnias sp and I counted around seven in the aquarium.

Limnias sp (Pennak, 118 figure 42-J)

There didn't appear to be any growth in other areas of the MicroAquarium, other than the aforementioned surge of Caenorhabditis Elegan populous. 

Bibliography

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2014. [10. 14. 14]. Available from http://botany1112014.blogspot.com/

Pennak, Robert [1953] Pennak Freshwater Invertebrates of the U.S. New York (NY) Ronald Press Company

Pennak, Robert [1989] Fresh-water Invertebrates of the United States (Protosoa to Mollusca) (U.S) John Wiley & Sons [3rd edition]

Patterson, D.J., [2003] Free-Living Freshwater Protazoa (A Color Guide). Daytona. Manson Publishing. ASM Press.

Ward, H.B. & Whipple, G.C. [1918] Freshwater Biology. New York. John Wiley & Sons. Stanhope Press.

In the Beginning... 14 October, 2014

On this fateful Tuesday, I set up my MicroAquarium. We first had to assemble our slide by using three different pieces: a glass case "aquarium" which is basically two large microscope slides glued together, a base, and a lid. Starting this small ecosystem, I chose to use water taken from the spring in Lynnhurst Cemetery off of Adair Dr. in Knoxville, Tennessee. (McFarland, 2014) These are the steps I took to set it up. Using a pipet, I extracted a bit of sand off the bottom of the canister which held the cemetery sample, some from the middle, and some from the very top edge of the water.Into this, I took sprigs of two different plants:

1. Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/12/2014
2. Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivorous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00), Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta Tn. in White Co. and grown in WATER TANKS outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. 10/12/2014 (McFarland, 2014)

 Which I placed on opposite sides of the slide. These plants will create oxygen and give nutrients inside the slide in order to keep the organisms inside alive. Once the Aquarium was created, I used the microscopes in lab to see what my tiny ecosystem held.

Through observation, I got a closer look at the factors put into the MicroAquarium, and it seems like a prime place for a microorganism to live in. Sadly I only noticed two organisms, but hopefully with a higher-powered microscope, more will appear. The first, was a nematode. The factors of the low powered microscope and with the way it was thrashing around, I couldn't tell what kind it was, but based on the shape I believe it could be a Caenorhabditis Elegan or something closely related to that. The other organism I saw confounded me. At first glance, I thought it might be a Tardigrade. However, I found that was not the case at all. This organism moved spinning around, like a frisbee, and its shape was finished off in a tip to create a shape more like a teardrop, rather than the blob of a shape that is a water bear. With further observation, this organism with be known, and hopefully, more will surface.