Week 4: The End

Ah, life... bitter sweet - but it always comes to an end it would seem... and so it is for some of the denizens of our micro-world this week, as I notice several rotifer carcasses laying dormant in the thining soil deposits on the bottom of the aquarium.

Also noticing a lot more of them in the mid-large sizes - and many more small rotifers populating our ever-crowding habitat. But the time has come to close this chapter in their lives, and to (hopefully) set them free to roam in the real world somewhere (even if it may be the sewar, somehow I suspect they may enjoy that even more).

Goodbye, cruel world!

Week 3 Observations: Photographic Evidence and Species ID

    I was able to get access to the imaging microscopes this time and got some decent mug shots. I have also been able to narrow in on some id's, which are also provided. The id's are tentative however, my final identifications and descriptions will be poste in the next and final chapter next week.

The Common Amoeba (this one is probably Amoeba Proteus). Common, but hard to spot - these shots were taken at the greatest magnification I had access to (40x).

Another amoeba.

Rotifera Euchanis Deflexa - these were very active, motile creatures, very abundant in my aquarium, ranging in size from a few um to perhaps 300um.

 Actinopoda Actinispherium. This fellow just waits around for rotifers and other cretures to get caught in its sticky spines.

 Another shot of an Actinisphere... note the bubble structure forming on the outside - not sure what this does but will have a final report in my summary.

 This Rotifer is caught in the spines of the Actinisphere and appeared to be struggling to get free. I watched for some time hoping it would, but never saw the ultimate conclusion to this death struggle.

 Two smaller Rotifers, yet to be identified.

 Something strange clings to the end of this filament of plant life, which appears to be the ascus of some algae perhaps?

 Rising from the soil particles at the bottom of the aquarium  is a Cannelida Tubiflex.  Also called a Chaetogaster, reminds me of the Asteroid Beast from Star Wars.... I think I can see   the Millenium Falcon flying just out of frame!

 Another shot of this motile, worm-like beast as it prowled among the muck.

Another worm-like member of the Chaetogaster family, Styleria, identified in part by the snout like structure extending from the head.

 There can be no mistaking the symetrical structure of this Desmid... probably Pleurotaenium Ehrenbergii.

    Next week: Its a sad time in Micro Aquarium land as our series comes to an end next time. I'll compile a list of the creatures I have seen along with some final observations. See all of you wonderful fans then!

Week 2 Observations: More Creatures of the (not so) Deep...

On Oct. 26th, I was able to spend some more time among my friends in the amazing world of the micro aquarium (TM). I observed some very interesting new creatures this time... these now joining the list of creatures that I will attempt to classify and identify down to the genus (and hopefully species?) within the next few sessions. But for now, I shall continue some casual observations as I swim among these delightful little creatures.

Figure 1: Possible Micro-Annelid: Styleria?

This guy was pretty amazing... a 'large' (~100 um) worm-like fellow with distinct segments, each segment delineated by approx 8 hairlike feelers (extending in pairs at four points around the circumference of the body. I was able to observe close up as this fellow feasted upon whatever it was that he was feasting upon among the particles of soil, stopping to eat in an area and then moving along a bit and stopping again... what appears to be a sticky 'tongue' would pop out at regular intervals and dab the soil.

Figure 2: Algae-like mass of hyphae. Hydrodictyion?

 This caught my eye because of the segmented, hyphae-like appearance of the filaments. Will be interested to know what this was.

Figure 3: Diatom?

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 Striking because of its sharp corners and symmetrical appearance, my first guess is Diatom, but we'll see.

Figure 4: Stentor?

This was hard to catch and I observed at full magnification (40x) for several minutes. I was able to catch the motion of water as it apparently used suction to pull water/food into its funnel. My first guess is a Protozoa known as Stentor.

I am a bit behind on getting these posts up live, so the next one shall come sooner and will contain actual images from my observations on Nov. 2nd, when I was able to get some time on the imaging microscopes... neat stuff!

Week 1 Observations: Getting to know the Citizens of the Deep

My goal for these first few weeks is to gather and identify the various lifeforms I am seeing, in addition to observing general changes in the environment overall. On 10/19/10, after a week in a dark corner of a lab here at UTK, I had the opportunity to observe the mirco-denizens for quite sometime, making rough sketches of the various life forms which were quite abundant there. In later posts (after getting a good general library of the critters in my aquarium, I'll go into more detail - perhaps attempting to identify species etc.

Figure 1: Rotifers


Perhaps the most easily seen, these little guys are everywhere. They appear to be harvesting as the swim and crawl in and out of soil particles and among the plant stems. Reminiscent of fleas, these creatures appear to be collecting food with the shortest of the leg appendages that extend from beneath a shell-like structure. Also impressive are the apparent tail-like appendage extending from the rear of the creature - which is actually two tails side by side - perhaps used from steering as the jet through the water in search of the next meal.

Figure 2: Paramecium


Up next, these paramecium were quite prevalent. They would jet across my field of view from time to time. I was able to watch them en-masse within some kind of pod-like structure on the stem of the plants, when I noticed blurred movement along the edges of the inside of the pod. Upon adjusting the focus, 100's of these could be seen gathered within the pod, all vibrating maniacally.

Figure 3: Desmid

Found this thing out in the middle of the water off on it's own - striking symmetrical bump in the middle made it stand out - turns out to be a desmid, which is a type of algae. Perhaps pleuratonium->ehrengergii, though I'd need to spend more time in the Handbook of algae to be more sure.

There were other strange beings I have yet to identify out there - more next time!

The MicroAquarium(TM) Project Begins!

On 10/12/10, we began our Botany 111 term project. I set up a micro aquarium using sample water from sample #12.

After dispensing three layers of water into the microaquarium, I observed the seemingly lifeless sample under the microscope and was pleased to see quite a bit of activity. Small, flea-like creatures burrowing into the sparse soil at the bottom. Even smaller creatures clinging to the leaves of the larger of two plant samples which were inserted into the aquarium to help oxygenate the water.

I will be posting images and descriptions each week as I observe this miniature world over the next four weeks. Looking forward to seeing what develops!