Observation Week 3

I went and observed my Microaquarium for the 2nd time. Dr. Mcfarland had added one Beta Food Pellet, the food pellet "Atison's Beta Food" is 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%. I saw organisms swimming around the Beta Food such as rotifers a vortecella. I also observed that one of the plants had trapped a nematode which is a worm like organisms. I believe these new observations had to do a lot with the addition of the Beta Food.

Vorticella- The Vorticella is a protist (protozoan) and belongs to the Phyllum Ciliophora.  It is a very interesting, stalked ciliate with an inverted bell shape.  The stalk contains a contractile fibril called a myoneme.  When stimulated, it shortens, causing the stalk to coil like a spring. 


Rotifers- Rotifers are small, mostly freshwater animals, and are amongst the smallest members of the

Metazoa -- that group of multicellular animals which includes humans, and whose bodies are organized into systems of organs.

Most rotifers are about 0.5mm in length or less, and their bodies have a total of around a thousand cells. This means that their organ systems are a greatly simplified distillation of the organ systems found in the bodies of the higher animals.


Works Cited
http://www.micrographia.com/specbiol/rotife/homebdel/bdel0100.htm
http://www.microscope-microscope.org/applications/pond-critters/protozoans/ciliphora/vorticella.htm

Setting up Aquarium

Procedure

1) Received aquarium with stand and lid. We were given a substance similar to glue to help secure the lid.
2) We placed 3 colored dots on the left hand corner of our aquarium. 

• First dot = Lab Section
• Second dot = Table in which you sit during lab
• Third dot = The seat number you sit in at your table

3) Used pipettes to fill aquarium with water almost to the brim trying to coat the bottom layer with soil.
4) Added two plants into aquarium with water.
5) Placed aquarium under water and observed.
6) Removed aquarium from microscope, installed lid, and placed on stand.

Materials

1) Water - Frenchbroad River, Seven Islands Refuge

• Contained Cladophora sp. alga, Family- Cladophoracea 

2) Plants - 

• Amblestegium sp. 
• Uticularia gibba L.