November 11, 2011

On the final analysis of my Micro Aquarium not much has changed since the week before. The organisms are still  present and seem to be living well. There has not been any new organisms that have been discovered but the four that were mentioned in the last blog are plentiful. They are very active and are multiplying rapidly. The only drastic change I have noticed on today's observation is the overwhelming growth of the Cyanobacteria Blue Algae (Forest 1954). This Blue Algae doesn't seem to be harming the organisms but in fact the opposite. The Algae is more dense at the soil levels and around the plant life. This is also where most of the organisms are  found. This could be that the organisms are either feeding on the algae or they are providing a sort of protection or shelter for the organisms. But as the algae expands more away from the soil levels or vegetation, the Blue Algae strands decrease.

Work Cited:
Herman Siva Forest. 1954. Handbook of Algae. Knoxville TN. The University of Tennessee Pres. Pg.387 Fig. 604.

November 1st Analysis

Diatom (Ranis, Russell fig. 46)

Diatoms are a unicellular algae that is commonly found in streams and rivers.

                                                                               
                                                              Epalxis(Patterson Fig. 311)
                                    

Nematode(Patterson Fig. 18)

Nematodes are a multicellular organism that is found in many soils(http://nematode.unl.edu/Wormgen.htm).

                                                             Rotifer(Smith Fig. 7.14)

I have added These pictures to the blog to show the organisms that are found within my Micro aquarium. These include Diatoms, Rotifers, Epalxis, and Nematodes. These organisms were located in the lower region of the aquarium before the soil line and right under the vegetation. The Nematodes were very active while the Diatoms were not as mobile. The Rotifer was by far the biggest organism in the Aquarium and is constantly feeding. On further inspection of the overall aquarium I noticed all the dead organims were found along the soil line and were putting nutrients in the soil by decaying. No water was added but it does look as if more food pellets were.

Work Cited
http://nematode.unl.edu/Wormgen.htm

Smith, Douglas G. 2001. Pennaks Freshwater Invertibrates of the United States. 4th edition. New York, NY. John Wiley and Sons.

Patterson, D.J., 1992. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa, London, (UK): Manson Publishing. pages 25- 141.

Ranis, K.; Russell, B. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Danbury, Connecticut: Groiler Publishing pg. 207

Description of food that was placed in the Micro Aquarium

Dr. McFarland has asked us to include what type of  food that was placed in the Micro Aquariums on Friday, October 21, 2011. A description of the food pellet is:"Atison's Betta Food" 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%.

Work Cited on Oct. 25

Patterson, D.J., 1992. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa, London, (UK): Manson Publishing. pages 25-  141.

Description of My Micro Aquarium

The type of water and soil I chose came from a water pool below spring. Lynnhurst Cemetery off of Adair Drive. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Partial shade exposure Spring Feed Pond N36 01.357 W83 55.731 958 ft 10/9/2011. The vegetation I used was a simple plant an moss for addition to my Aquarium.

October 25 Micro Aquarium

After checking the Micro Aquarium yesterday I noticed that food had been added to the aquarium the previous Friday. What I noticed after putting my aquarium under the microscope I noticed that the aquarium has come to life. Unlike last week, there were many organisms thriving whereas before I only saw the Cyclops. The organisms were located at the lower part of the Aquarium close to the vegetation. The Four new organisms that were found in my Aquarium were; Nematodes, Ditoms, Rotifers, and Epilaxis(Patterson 1992). These organisms were not seen the previous week but with the conditions of 24 hour light and adding an additional food source to the habitat, this is causing the organisms to surface and thrive in the aquarium. On the next blog I will get pictures of the organisms and will give a brief description of each. No water was added this week and no other changes or substances were added this week.

October 18th examination

It has been a week since the last time I saw my biome and Iam very relieved to finally see organisms in my biome. The first observation I conducted the previous week, I was surprised that even after putting the soil and the three components that comprised of soil and other nutritions there were no signs of any micro organisms. But now I have spotted and identified organisms in my biome. The organisms that I have spotted were identified as a common organism known as the Cyclops(Rainis, Russell 1996). Besides the organisms that were discovered, everything else in the biome seemed to be stable. There was very little water loss and I added more water just to be on the safe side.

Work Cited
Ranis, K.; Russell, B. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Danbury, Connecticut: Groiler Publishing pg. 207