Week 5 Observation

This is my final week of observations for my MicroAquarium.  The first thing I noticed was the lack of activity from the organisms in my MicroAquarium.  It seemed like there were fewers Rotifers present, and the ones that I did observe, seemed to be slowed down from their usual tempo.  I observed several Paramecium bursaria, which did not seem to be different in their activities from the weeks before.  A hypothesis I would have for the change in organism diversity and activity would be as time has continued to pass, the conditions and food availability are no longer suitable for certain organisms to live.  I would also expect to see further declining diversity as time continued to pass.  To stabilize and possible restore organism diversity, food, new vegitation, and possibly new water would need to be added.  It appears that the conditions in my MicroAquarium have become almost too poor for life to thrive.

Week 4 Observations

For the fourth week of the project I have continued to make observations on my MicroAquarium.  I saw the usual abundance of Rotifers swimming and eating.  I was unable to find any remains of the food pellet added last week, so I guess the organisms have been busy.  This week, I was finally able to get pictures of a Paramecium bresaira and a Stenostomum.  I observed both of these before, but was unable to get a good picture of either.  The Stenostomum moved rapidly around the MicroAquarium, and at one point even ate two Colops.  The Stenostomum has eye sockets at the front of its body that contain light sensors to help it find its way around.  It was unusual to watch because it would move around, often running into things, and even occasionally attacking what it ran into.  Another observed organism this week was the Actuspherium, however, I was unable to get a clear picture of it.  For the first time, I observed clusters of Bodo.  These organism are extremely small and have a flagella at each end.  Next week I hope to see growth in some of these organisms, with maybe some new ones showing up.

Sources:
Patterson, D.J. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. Wolfe Publishing Ltd. 1996. Fig 349-358.
Ward, Henry Baldwin, Whipple, George Chandler. Fresh-Water Biology. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 1918.   Fig 594