cyanobacteria 11-15-07
Thursday
November 15, 2007
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
The fourth and final week, the MicroAquarium(TM) continued to explode with life. The first thing that I noticed about the tank was that it was only about 3/4 full of water; so I filled it to the brim with distilled water that was provided for us.
A wide variety of cyanobacteria was everywhere in the tank, and was even visible as a smear across the back of the tank without the aid of a microscope. It was even growing into the glue at the sides of the tank. There were also what appeared to be a few colonies of green algae.
The population of diatoms had grown at the same rate as the cyanobacteria. There was also an increase in variety. I observed several different kinds in the process of cell division. Another thing that I noticed was that they were generally larger in size this week than they were last week.
The Paramecium bursaria population did not grow as much as it had the previous week, but it seemed like there were more in the tank all the same. There were also quite a few euplotes and rotifers. There were also many nematodes, and one particularly large one that could be seen without the microscope. I also observed several annelids and a flatworm at the bottom of the tank, but no Annelid aeolosomasp this time. Sad to say, the seed shrimp was found dead at the bottom of the tank.
After making my observations, Dr. Kenneth McFarland helped me take some pictures of the organisms in my MicroAquarium(TM). I enjoyed studying the MicroAquarium(TM) and asked my instructor, Dr. McFarland, if I could keep mine; so I did.
1 comment:
Amanda, you have done an excellent job observing and recording the events in your microcosm. Looks like you're on your way to becoming a great scientist (if you want)!!
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