Last week

This is my final post of my MicroAquarium. Even though it has been fun, all things must come to an end. I have learned a lot over the past few weeks. I can never look at pond, river, or any water as just water anymore. It is amazing how many different organisms live in a small amount of water, like the MicroAquariums we created.

I realized that I may not have mentioned where the water came from and the types of plants that I placed in my aquirum. My water source was #8 and came from the Tennessee River at boat ramp across from Knoxville sewer plant. Neyland Dr. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Full sun exposure. French Broad and Holston Rivers water Sheds N35 56.722 W83 55.587 813 ft 10/12/2008.

The plant sources that I used are:

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

C. Rhynchostegium serrulatum (Hedwig)A. Jaeger
Moss. 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. 10/21-24/2008

Now I am sure you all are wondering what exactly I observed in my final week. I found a few Cinetochilum. They are flat, and the mouth, and ciliature are part of the posterior part of the cell. The cells are grooved with a dorsal surface and long cilia trailing behind (Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. D.J. Patterson, Drawings by Stuart Hedley. Manson Publishing Ltd. 1996, pg. 120).

I also saw a Flagellate which jerks when it moves because of the flagella. It was half the size of a Halteria. There is no source because the Flagellate was to small to tell exactly what type of Flagellate it was. Diatoms were found in the aquarium as well. They were small, and had short fillament segments. They were also to small know the exact type of Diatom.

I found young Amoeba with eukaryotic cells. The cells have a single large nucleus that has a thick, folded and dimpled wall (Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. D.J. Patterson, Drawings by Stuart Hedley. Manson Publishing Ltd. 1996, pg. 98).

As I continued to look around my aquarium I found many rotifer skeletons laying about. It was sad to see that some of my organisms had died. I thought that I was going to find dead seed shrimp (Guide to Microlife Kenneth G. Rainis and Bruce J. Russell. Franklin Watts - A Division of Grolier Publishing. Danbury, Connecticut. 1996. pg 209) at the bottom of the aquirium in the dirt, but to my suprise they were still alive. Here is a video that I took last week of a seed shrimp.




This concludes my results of the organisms that were found in my MicroAquirium. Hope you have enjoyed exploring and discovering new organisms as much as I have.