Week Four

Week Four--the final viewing of my aquarium--rounded the experiment out quite nicely. I saw a large number of familiar organisms, and found a couple of new organisms that I hadn't seen before.

Plant A had sprouted a new branch. Plant B had to a large degree taken over its half of the tank. I noticed fewer algae around it, whereas in comparison, other organisms seemed to flourish around Plant A.

I did not get the opportunity to take pictures, but the new organisms would likely not have photographed well. The first I saw was a paramecium filled with green spots that moved at about medium pace. This organism was paramecium bursana (Patterson 1992). The second organism I noticed was incredibly tiny, moved very slowly, and changed shape regularly. It had black round objects tumbling through it as it moved. This organism was an amoeba, though much different than the other suspected amoeba I had seen.

This week, in addition to viewing the aquarium through a standard microscope, I was also able to view them through a dissection microscope. This microscope was much easier to use in my opinion--the stage did not move; focusing and zooming were both done directly from the lens. This microscope also seemed to have a higher power, able to zoom even closer than usual microscopes (though I could be wrong about that). Viewing different parts of the slide was much easier as well, considering that rather than moving the stage, the observer moves the slide itself across the stage. It was interesting to see the organisms through a different microscope.

Overall, I really enjoyed this term project and felt the experiment was quite an interesting experience. I learned quite a bit about microscopic life forms and just how truly diverse they can get. hope to be able to have similar experiences in Botany 112.

Patterson, DJ. 1992. Free Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. Washington D.C.: Manson Publishing.

Week Three

This week proved relatively unexciting in my aquarium. The entire aquarium was filled with algae and diatoms. Plant B showed continued growth, and this was the first time I saw colonial cyanobacteria occur in my tank. They were small green pellets that lived in clusters.

Cyclopes of all ages were prevalent throughout the water. Trachelophyllia also made their way around the aquarium, as well as rotifers. There was no sign of the amoeba, of the euglena, or of other unique organisms. I saw two deformed desmids next to each other, which I would have photographed were I using a microscope equipped with a camera. One had an abnormal shape, and the other appeared to have a problem with its chloroplast, because the green area appeared shriveled.

I cannot wait to see what I find in the last week of my experiment! Hopefully something truly exciting will come my way.