Week 1 Observation

A week ago, the Microaquarium was set up (This is how I did it.). Once again, I examined living organisms in my Microaquarium with a microscope, but this time I was able to take pictures through the microscope. For many organisms, the pictures did not give enough detail to determine which species the organism was. I will give as much information as I can gather from my images. Here are some of the organisms I saw:

Image 1: an amoeba from the genus Mayorella, identified from Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide, p. 98, Figure 192. I saw a couple of these this week.

Image 2: a pennate diatom from the genus Navicula, identified from Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide, p, 25, Figure 5. Diatoms were plentiful in my aquarium. I also recognize these from the set-up week.

Image 3: a gastrotrich, identified from Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca, p. 158, Figure 1. This was the only gastrotrich I saw.

Image 4: a protozoa of the genus Urocentrum, identified from Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide, p, 167, Figure 388. There were many protozoa-like organisms in my aquarium.

Image 5: another pennate diatom from the genus Cocconeis, identified from Guide to Microlife, p. 112. 

Image 6: Litonotus cygnus, identified from Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide, p. 133, Figure 287. I saw a couple of these in this week's observation.

Image 7: a protist from the genus Actinophrys, identified from Guide to Microlife, p. 83. I only saw one or two of these.

Image 8: a protist from the genus Vorticella, identified from Guide to Microlife, p. 127. I recognize this from the set-up week. I did not see very many.

Image 9: a tiny animal of the rotifers of genus Collotheca, identified from Fresh-Water Invertebrates of the United States: Protozoa to Mollusca, p. 219, Figure 43b. This was the only one I saw.

While I only saw one of several organisms, it is possible that there were more that I did not see. I tried to capture images of moving organisms, but some moved too quickly and were too small for me to get pictures of. I saw some blue-green algae. Also, many organisms were along the soil line or beside plants, so this is where I spent the majority of my time looking. It took me almost an hour to get these pictures, and several others. You can find the information on the sources cited by visiting the bibliography page of my blog.

Hope you enjoyed these images. Unitl next week,
Amber O'Malley