Week 5

The aquarium had less activity during the fifth observance. Though many organisms were still present and multiplying, everything seemed to be moving at a moderate pace. With the naked eye, I could observe seed shrimp and annelids or planarians. My moss had grown and more algae were present.

OBSERVATIONS::

Seed Shrimp: I did not observe many generations of seed shrimp; most were mature. Most were concentrated at the bottom of the aquarium eating, but they could be found throughout the waters. I believe some of the seed shrimp were eating not only the alga but also the vorticella. The seed shrimp still moved quickly, but not as quick as in the past weeks.

Rotifer: Absent.

Unknown 1: Not observed.

Annelida: There was a lower concentration of Annelida this week, and most of the Annelida observed were adult. They were primarily present in the bottom or on the sides of the aquarium eating.

Paramecium: Absent.

Cyclops: Absent

Unknown 4: Not observed.

Planarian: I saw many Planarians throughout the aquarium. Some were eating around the alga, moss, and possibly the vorticella. Most were moving throughout the aquarium though I did observe one which was stationary in the middle of the waters. I thought it was dead, but upon closer observation I could see its cilia and inside structures moving.

Diatom: Numerous diatoms are located throughout the aquarium. They are stationary.

Vorticella: I saw many vorticellas along the walls of the aquarium.

Unknown 5: Again I observed this organism, and it appeared to have grown since I last saw it. Unknown 5 was moving a bit slower and was eating on the moss.

CONCLUSION::

I believe that some of the population decreased since the last observation. Most of the organisms I observed were mature; I only found a few juvenile seed shrimp. But some populations like that of the diatoms and Vorticella have increased, or at least I noticed them in greater quantity during this week 5.

One More Website

I found one last website which will assist me in my lab report. I needed to find the classification for the paramecium I chose to research: Paramecium aurelis.
The following website showed me the classification.

Official citation:

ITIS Standard Report Page: Paramecium Aurelia. "Paramecium aurelia Ehr." 12 November 2007. Accessed 12 April 2007.

Textbook Reference for the Paramecium

I have found my final source for the paramecium. In Dr. Wile's and Ms. Durnell's Biology book, I learned some more information on a paramecium's physical structures. Specifically I learned more about the oral groove and the reason a paramecium needs (or at least greatly benefits from) multiple nuclei.

Official citation:

Wile, Dr. Jay L., and Marilyn F. Durnell. Exploring Creation with Biology. USA: Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998.

Week 4

My MicroAquarium was a flurry of activity this week. It seems the only thing static is my moss. Three new organisms were identified: diatoms, planarin or flatworm, and vorticella.

OBSERVATIONS::

Seed Shrimp: Many seed shrimp of different generations were present all over the aquarium from the bottom to the top waters. All were either eating or swimming.

Rotifer: Absent.

Unknown 1: Not observed.

Annelida: Some of the older annelida have grown even bigger. There are many young annelida. Most remain in the bottom waters and around the moss where they get their food source.

Paramecium: Absent.

Cyclops: Absent

Unknown 4: I did not observe this organism on Tuesday.

Planarin: The planarin or flatworm looks much like the annelida. It has orange/red pigments and appears worm-like. But its movements do not resemble the worm. It swims through the middle and bottom waters, sometimes pausing to eat. Also, it is smaller than the annelida and doesn't contain the hairs on the sides of the body. I learned from Dr. McFarland that the planarin has two eye spots with which to detect light, but I didn't observe them for myself.

Diatom: Dr. McFarland saw diatoms scattered throughout my MicroAquarium.

Vorticella: The vorticella is a protist. The vorticellas are found on the edges of the aquarium and on the moss. They have an interesting motion; at sporadic times they will withdraw quickly toward their base. The vorticellas were visible at 100x, but even when Dr. McFarland moved to 200x, they were very small.

Unknown 5: I saw again the organism that I thought previously (Week 2) was a cyclops. I looked at the diagrams for the cyclops, and it didn't fit the description. Also, it moved around so quickly that I couldn't identify the organism. Maybe it is an insect larva.

COMMENTS::

Overall, the population is increasing; the seed shrimp and annalidas are the primary organisms. Last week I had observed that part of the algae in my MicroAqarium was greener than usual. When I looked this past Tuesday, there are now three greener areas.

Pictures of the Lab Room

This first picture is just of the microscope and MicroAquarium in the lab room.


Photo Row 1: Two pictures of my MicroAquarium. The first picture shows an old textbook from the 1900's which helps us identify our microorganisms.

Photo Row 2: Two pictures of the Annelida. It is very worm-like. In the second picture you can see the cilia on its body.

Photo Row 3: These two pictures show the seed shrimp. The second picture shows it opening up its outer casing.

Photo Row 4: These pictures are of the flatworm. It is quite motile and difficult to get a whole picture.

Photo Row 5: These pictures show the vorticella which Dr. McFarland discovered. It is a tiny, translucent protist in the side of the fern.

Journal Article

In searching about the paramecium, I found an article about Paramecium aurelia written by Earl D. Hanson. The journal article is extremely technical; I comprehended very little of the information. I did come to understand that the Paramecium aurelia is capable of regenerating a new gullet. There are three different instances which were observed when a new gullet was formed: a good gullet in operation senses the need to reproduce another gullet; restoration of an abnormal gullet; when the a gullet is destroyed, synthesis of a new gullet is undertaken.

Here is the official citation:

Hanson, Earl D. "Morphogenesis and regeneration of oral structures in Paramecium aurelia: An analysis of intracellular development." Journal of Experimental Zoology. 150 (1962): 46-67.