Blog #2

Percy McReynolds

Kenneth McFarland

Botany 111 003

October 27, 2014

Blog #2


When I went to look at my aquarium this week, the change I saw was very noticeable. When I analyzed my aquarium for the first time, I noticed a few different organisms at the bottom of the aquarium where the sediment was placed near the two different types of plants. After my observations of these organisms, I was able to identify them as arthropods. I also saw many free roaming algae floating around towards the bottom of my aquarium. Since then, I found many different kinds of organisms living in my aquarium during my second examination.

The microscope I used during my second examination enabled me to use a camera and a computer monitor to analyze my aquarium while also taking pictures of any organisms I found. When I first started using the microscope I was a little confused of how its functions worked, but I quickly was able to figure it out and I used it to my advantage. I first started examining the top area of my aquarium, but I quickly found out that many of the organisms were not located there. When I found this out, I decided to move down to the bottom of the aquarium. I started at one end of the aquarium and slowly examined the sediment area and the area around the two different plants. When I did this I was able to find many different kinds of organisms.

The first organism I ran into was the organelle Cilia. I found it free roaming near the bottom of the aquarium near the two plants. The Cilia was using its many flagella to rapidly move the water and the sediment around to absorb food. My aquarium has a very simple food chain right now so the competition between organisms is higher than usually, which causes the Cilia to work  harder to adequate food to supply its membrane with food. I also found multiple Euclanis rotifers at the bottom of my aquarium moving in and out of the sediment and the different plants. The rotifer used its tail to move around the sediment as I watched it. As I researched more about rotifers, I found that they are very common in freshwater because the are free roaming and decompose organic soil matter (Robert 1989). I also researched and found that rotifers are very major food source in many freshwater organisms. Below is an image I took of the Euchlanis Rotifer while it was near the bottom of the sediment decomposing the organic matter. I noticed its tail was one of the most important parts of its body because its whole objective is to decompose matter constantly.

Sources:

Patterson, D.J. 1992. Free living Freshwater Protozoa: A colour Guide. Washington D.C.: Wolfe Publishing LTD. 259 p.

Prescott, G.W. 1954-1964. The Fresh Water Algae. Dubuque, Iowa. WM. C. Brown Company Publishers. 162 P.


   

Post 1: Introdution to my aquarium

Percy McReynolds
Botany 111 003
10/19/14



My aquarium comes from water source number 9, the Pond at Sterchi Hills Greenway on Rife Range Rd. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Full sun N36 02.687 W83 57.159 1065 ft 10/12/2014. The water consists of mostly sheet runoff. Sheet runoff is a type of soil erosion runoff that usually consists of the transportation of sediment from the overflow of water because of the lack of a defined channel. Because of this, much of the water from the pond for my aquarium was very sediment heavy. The sediment was not very transparent, which cause my water to have a darker tint.

To set up my aquarium, I used the micro aquarium tank which was made from glass, a lid and a stand to create an environment. When I got this done, I placed about 1/3 of the sediment and water from the bottom of the bowl that had the water source from the Sterchi Hills Greenway into the tank. After that I put another 1/3 of water from the Greenway except I took it from the middle of the bowl to get a verity of sediment build up. After that, I filled the rest of the aquarium with water from the surface of the bowl. When these steps were completed, I placed some Amblestegium varium, which is a small or medium size plants with stems that are obscurely angled, prostrate and branched. the branches are slender, irregular, erect or ascending, never plume-like, straight or with tips incurved. The plant can be found growing in extensive loose or crowded tufts, bright green, dull dark green or pale yellow green, on ground, decayed wood, bases of trees and rocks in moist, wet or shady places. I placed this plant on one side of the aquarium. on the other side of the aquarium I placed Utricularia gibba, which is  a small- to medium-sized aquatic plant that can either be affixed to the substrate in shallow water or free-floating in the water column. it flowers more if supported by a substrate beneath shallow water. It forms mats of criss-crossing, branching, thread-like stolons. By placing multiple plants my aquarium along with a certain kind of water source, I was able to introduce new different kinds of algae and organisms from the Sterchi Hills greenway. I also created an aquarium in which  I will be able to examine on a weekly basis. 

My water source compared to the other sources was pretty different. My pond thrives of the transportation of rainwater due to the overflow of certain areas of land around the Sterchi Hills Greenway, which causes the overflow to flow into the pond, bringing large of sediment with it. The other water sources were varied in the water input. Some were spring fed, which causes the sediment to be spread out in a more large area because of the journey it takes to get to the water source. My pond is also located in full sun compared to some of the others that are in a sun/ shade area. Since my water source is located in a full sun location, the water temperature will be at an overall higher level than the other water sources. Because of this, many different organisms live in my water source because of their ability to withstand the high temperatures.

Many of the organisms I saw when I was examining my aquarium were not moving. When I placed the different types of plant in my aquarium on each side, the organisms tended to navigate towards the plants and did not move. This gave me the ability to examine closely, but it was hard to find them at first. Their bodies seemed very tic like to me. They had a circular to oval like body that had multiple legs that would come off of it. It was hard to tell the shape of the leg, but they seemed to look like the organisms in the arthropod group. I also saw multiple free roaming circular organisms that had tiny like circular shapes in their body structure. Their structure was also green, which exemplifies they characteristics of the algae family. This shows that algae is going to be very prominent in my aquarium.


Sources:

            "Illustrated Self-Guided Course On How To Use The Slide Rule." International Slide Rule Museum. ISRM Is the World's Largest Free Digital Repository of All Things concerning Slide Rules and Other Math Artifacts. There Are over 7000 Images or PDF's in the ISRM Galleries" N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.      

"Microscopy-UK Full Menu of Microscopy and Microscopes on the Web." Microscopy-UK Full Menu of Microscopy and Microscopes on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

Amblestegium varium (Internet). BBS Field guide; (cited 2014 October 24) Available at:
http://www.bbsfieldguide.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/mosses/Amblystegium_varium.pdf

Utricularia gibba (Internet) Aquatic Plant Central; c2008-2009 (cited 24 October 2014). Available at:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=268

McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2014. [cited 24 October 2014]. Available from http://botany1112014.blogspot.com/

In text citation. (McFarland, 2014)