First Observation 10-20-2010

For my first open lab observation I noticed that my micro-aquarium had lost about one centimeter of water and I replaced the lost water with water in a squeeze bottle at the front of the lab. During observation I noticed several organisms at the bottom of a plant near the soil that had two appendages sticking out of them. They are called Lecane Rotifers and they mostly stay in soil or sand and are common in open waters 7-10 cm from the shoreline (Rainis and Russell 1996).

After spotting the rotifers I noticed that there was a lot of movement near Plant B. When I focused on the movement I saw what appeared to be a little colony of tiny green organisms moving in a circular pattern inside the plant. I was told that they were paramecium in a a disintegrating bladder on Plant B (McFarland 2010).

I then spotted a Vorticella sp. that was attached to the plant and looked like it was filtering water through its "mouth", these protozoa feed on bacteria and small algae (Bick 1972).

Finally, on Friday (10-22-2010) one pellet of "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%) was added to each Micro-Aquarium (An Inquiry Into...[updated 2010]).

Citation:
 An Inquiry into the Dynamic Microorganisms in our Environment [Internet]. [Updated 2010 Oct 22]. Knoxville (TN): Ken McFarland University of Tennessee Biology Department; [cited 2010 Oct 20]. Available from: http://botany1112010.blogspot.com/

Hartmut Bick. 1972. Ciliated Protozoa. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, p. 110-111.
McFarland Kenneth. 2010. Paramecium in plant bladder. In: Botany Open Lab; 2010 Oct. 24; Knoxville (TN).

Rainis Kenneth G, Russell Bruce J. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Danbury (CT): Franklin Watts, p. 193.