Week 6: Obervation

Last Wednesday, Novermber 17, 2010, I made my last obervation of the MircoAquarium . The lid had been removed and 1/3 of the water had evaporated. There was a large green root like organism growing on the side of the tank. I was not able to identify it as there was no teaching assistant there.

Week 5: Observation

On Wednesday,  November 10, I observed that all my previously identified organisms  Cyclops, Stylaria, Palpomyia Biting Midge (a larvae) and Hydrachna had disappeared.  I thought that the organisms had been eaten by the Hydrachna, a water mite that feeds on crustaceans and larvae but the Hydrachna was also gone

Thompson, Gerald. The Pond. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984. 188

I did see two new organisms Actinophrys on the soil and many Stenostomums.  Actinophrys are freshwater microbes that have spines and axopods that come out from their center.  Prey sticks to these axopods and then cytoplasm surrounds the prey as can be seen below.

Margulis, Lynn. Five Kingdoms. 2nd ed. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman, 1988. 112

 

The Stenostomums is a Planaria, a flatworm.  They have two eyespots and are the smallest animals where you can see a tale and a head.  It attaches to its prey by suction to its pharnx and shreds its prey while eating. 

Baker, Jeffrey. The Study of Biology. 4th ed. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1982. 886

Week 4: Observation

On Wednesday, November 03, looking through the 10x objective microscope, I saw one Cyclops, a Stylaria and algae Zygenma SP.    Last week I observed 4 Cyclops but this week there was only one.  I also looked at the Zygenma SP., which is an algae.  It was yellow and green and I could see that each cell was attached side to side to form the strand.  I was also able to see the chloroplast inside each cell.

Thompson, Gerald. Pond Life. Green Algae. 1984  p . 75