Observation 4: Tuesday, November 8

For my final observation, I was hoping for some changes, and I got them!  The lower half of the microaquarium was FULL of filamentous algae strands - quite a crisscrossed network of them.  My observation last week of the so called "colonial algae" around the bottom seeming to have "replaced" the larger diatoms was incorrect-- Dr. McFarland pointed out to me that they were diatoms themselves, and there had to be many several hundreds of them.

I identified several new organisms that I had not seen at all until this week, including a mite.  QUITE exciting!  Below is a video.  I was fascinated by the hooked "arms" it used to catch food.



 I also found a highly increased number of Raphidocustis in and around where the algae met the sediment in the bottom.  The flagella are easily its most defining characteristic, as it has any small and a couple long ones all around its perimeter.

Fig. 409. 1999.  Patterson

The other new organism I observed was Peranema, which was somewhat easy to identify because of its motility and long flagella.  I looked for some time, but I only saw one.  May guess is conditions are becoming more favorable toward them and their numbers would increase were more observations to be taken.

Fig. 72.  1999.  Patterson

The rest of the organisms I photographed are ones that I had seen before, but this week the amoeba seemed to have increased in number, concentrated in the bottom half of the micro-aquarium, and the Colpidium were more "active" and in larger number.  The euplote pictured below is one of only a very few I observed over the course of the past month, and upon seeing it in the book I found it incredible how it can actually use its flagella as "legs" to traverse substrate (which explained how it seemed to scuttle in and out of it differently than any of the other organisms).

 Fig. 338.  1999.  Patterson

Fig. 260.  1999.  Patterson

 

Observation 3: Thursday, November 3

Unfortunately I was unable to take any photos this week due to having very little time, but I did oberve some interesting changes this week.

There seemed to be more Tachysoma this week.  There were fewer that I could observe last time, but this week they seemed to have increased in number again.  There appeared to be about the same amount of gastrotrich. 

In the bottom of my microaquarium there were a couple noteworthy changes:  There were masses of filamentous algae growing from the sediment, and in and around it there were hundreds of what I assume were some kind of colonial green algae.  These seem to have "replaced" the diatoms that initially dominated the bottom of the aquarium.  Whereas for the first couple observations the diatoms were too numerous to really count, it was somewhat a rarity to even see one this week. 

I did not observe any "new" organisms this week, and am still working on identifying those that I haven't been able to yet.  When I was finished observing I topped it off with some distilled water.