Initial Setup

On Wednesday, October 15, I started my term project for Botany 111. I filled my MicroAquarium™ with water and sediment from dish 4. I also included bits from both plant A and plant B. When first examining my MicroAquarium™ under the microscope, I did not see any signs of life other than the bits of plant material. After about 5 minutes of searching, I finally found an organism in the lower left corner of the MicroAquarium™. At first, I thought it may have been a shrimp as it seemed to be trying to extend its tail, but when I checked the pond life ID kit on http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/, I determined it was a waterflea trying to extend its large “foot”. I watched it for a while as it just sat there and flip-flopped and rolled over. After a while, I grew tired and went in search of other organisms. I quickly found another organism swimming smoothly around, occasionally stopping to nibble on some bits of debris. It was transparent and spade shaped, with the point toward the front and a “tail” extending from where the stem should be. Occasionally it would flip over as it swam along, showing that it was also dome shaped with its underside being concave. I suspect it is some type of protozoa, but I have not found any pictures that match it perfectly. Maybe next time I’ll be able to take my own picture.



As a footnote, I should point out that the water source for my aquarium was from:

Horse Farm Pond, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. Tennessee Partial shade exposure Well Feed Pond N36 00.431 W83 41.767 1069 ft 10/12/2008

As well as the two plants were:

Plant 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

Plant 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