Final Lab Observation

November 12, 2014

In my final lab observation, I noticed that much of the life that had been thriving the past few weeks seemed to die off. The Midge that I found last week was dead as well as some of the annelids. I was never able to find the heliozoa to attempt to determine the exact species. I did identify a new organism, however, the ostracod. Its common name is the seed shrimp. The Litonotus' that I've been watching have matured a great deal now. their injection parts have grown significantly each week. The Tachysomas have also multiplied drastically.

Micro Aquarium Observation Three

November 6, 2014

Today, I discovered a midge larva. it was definable by the red color of its head and two front feet just underneath the head. There was a noticeable size difference in the annelids from the past weeks to this week. The Litonotus I found last week has matured significantly. Its ingestion region is able to elongate to at least twice its body size. Today I found the remains of a water flea, no signs of a living one however.

Second In-Lab Observation

October 29, 2014

            This week in my observation, I found exponentially more life in my tank. This is greatly due to a food pellet that was previously added to the tank. The annelids I’ve been watching were much more active, even leaving they’re tube-like structures in search of food. I noticed that they had constructed their tubes out of the leaves of one of the plants in the tank. New organisms I have found include: Litonotus, Tachysoma, Chroococcus, and Merismopedi. I’ll be keeping an eye on a Heliozoa as it matures and grows, hopefully becoming more definable in its inner cilia. After observing, I added more water and more of each plant material.

Patterson, D.J. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide. Washington DC: ASM, 2003. Print.

Canter-Lund, Hilda, and John W. G. Lund. Freshwater Algae: Their Microscopic World Explored. Bristol: Biopress Limited, 1995. Print.