Final Post

151552Z Nov 09

General: I made my observations on Friday 11/13/09. I was disappointed to find that the amount of life is on the downswing. This will be my final post I hope you have enjoyed following the progress of my micro-aquarium as much as I have had reporting on it.

Obeservations: I counted 10 dead Ameobas, and only one live one. The paramecium seemed to be doing okay but pretty much all the other protists seemed to be dead. The cyanobacteria are doing okay but didn't grow significantly. Some of the other photosynthetic oragnisms did okay. Nothing else to report. As I write this the Buie Micro Aquarium has probably been washed down the sink. Goodbye Dancing Nematodes!

Buie out.

Life Explosion

121627Z Nov 09

General: I made my observations last Friday but am just posting them now. I apologize to all my fans out there who were waiting on word of the nematodes. Well the word is I couldn't find them but the amoebas are ruling the day now and you will see some exciting footage attached below.


Observations: There was a genral explosion of life in the aquarium from the Algae to the Protists. I am not sure where my nematodes went but the amoebas were very cool. My water level down to about half, which was direct indication of dry conditions we had outside last week. I caught a great image of an actinospherium from the Phylum Sarcodinum, see above. The suprise visitor in my amoeba film is a ciliate. Check it out.


Next Week: Well next week is here so tomorrow I will make what I believe to be my final observations and should get them posted tomorrow.

Dancing Nematodes

301808Z Oct 09-

General: My aqaurium has been taken over by dancing nematodes. Look for pics or video next week. In the meantime by biodiversity has increased since last weeks feeding, but still nothing bigger than a Rotifer. No pictures this week, too much camera competetion. My fellow bloggers look like Paramecium hovering around the cameras.

Observations: I positively identified the Rotifer, Echlanis Dilatata. (Pennak , Robert W. "Fresh-Water Invertabrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca". Page 171). These guys are very abundant and very busy. I noticed that they utilize their tails to hang on to a plant or structure while they are feeding. They remind me of a horseshoe crab with a split tail.
I have a star like organism called a Actinospherium and a green algae I think could be Hydrodictyon, I will let you know when it grows some more. The ever present paramecium numbers have increased like the other organisms.

Future: Look for some cool pics of my dancing nematodes next week.

later
wpb

Weekly Observation 10/23

231739Z Oct 2009-

Actions: Today I oserved and identified(?) several organisms and structures. I added additional water and one food pellet upon completion of my observation period.

Observations: The picture you see in fig. (1) is a bladder on the plant which is full of paramecium. I observed several of these bladders with varying amounts of activity contained within. Cyanbacteria have begun to grow throughout the aquarium. The strands are captured in figure (2) along with what I thought was a Philodina (3)but I have since changed my mind. I will update that indentification on the next post. I observed a Ciliate which I most closely identified as Colpidium (4). I utilized "Fresh Water Protozoa" by Patterson to guess at Colpidiums identity. I observed two Ameobae and some fast flagellates along with what I believe to be a Desmid.

Comment: I am somewhat disappointed thus far in the amount of diversity contained within my aquarium. I observed no insect larvae or other "large" organisms. I look forward to next week and the potential effect the feeding pellet has on my overall observable biodiversity. Talk to you next Friday.

wpb

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

231405Z Oct 2009- The plants utilized in my aquarium were:

Plant A . Amblystegium varium (Hedw.) Lindb. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/11/2009Plant B. Utricularia vulgaris L. Flowering

Plant. B carnivous 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.

Will report observations today prior to 1700Z.

wpb sends

Micro Aquarium Set Up

141737Z OCT 09- Microaquarium set up in lab today. Set up procedures as follows:
Take one empty microaquarium and using a pipet fill it about 1/3 with a water sample drawn from the bottom of the container on the lab bench (source to be discussed later). Then 1/3 from the middle layer. Add the two plants one moss and the other a aquatic plant. Then fill to within 3/16" from the top.

Water Source: My water sample came from the creek in Deans Woods.

Observations: I observed some oval green single cell, green wormlike (two celled?), clear larger larvae and some very small (compared to the others) dust like organisms. I was able to observe the cells within my plants. I also noticed much more activity near the bottom of the aquarium where the sediment is located. The sediment really highlighted the 3D nature of the aquarium as organisms moved up and down within the 3MM thickness of the aquarium.

Future Posts: I will provide updates every Friday, beginning next Friday,for the next four weeks and look forward to identfying the organisms listed above as well as reporting their growth and providing information on any newly discovered organisms.

Welcome

Welcome to the Buie Botany Blog! I hope you enjoy tracking the progress of my project.

Later.