Identifying the movements

On Thursday, October 23rd, I had the opportunity to view my micro-aquarium through a microscope equipped with a camera. There were a couple of different organisms that I focused on throughout the span of time allotted for viewing. One turned out to be some type of rotifer, but still has not been 100% identified so I will concentrate on describing, in more detail, the organism that was dragging his home with him last week. With the help of the book, Fresh Water Invertebrates of the United States, by Robert Pennak, on page 301, figure 11,example (f), and the shape of the posterior, I was able to identify this amazing creature (Pennak 1989). He is a Dero Furcatus sp.
When I initially began to scan the aquarium for him, I could not find him. When I had left him the week before, there was no denying where he was because he was so large, and so active, but while searching initially this week, nothing. While scanning I finally came across a branch that looked like what I had viewed the week prior and followed it out to the end expecting tho see the head that I had seen with a suction cup mouth, but instead I saw what seemed to be antennae. As I continued to view this guy, it became quite apparent that this was not the head. The length of the body is totally transparent so movement through the body can easily be observed. Excrement release became the clue I needed to look elsewhere for the head. After the dero had completed his private affair, he became as active as he had been the week before. Later on in my study of the dero, he became very still once again, so I decided to immediately examine the posterior side of the dero to see if there was any correlation between it being still and excreting waste. Sure enough, that is what was going on. He would stretch out straight to allow his body to work the waste down his tube body until it was exited. After the waste was excreted, he began to again move constantly looking for his next meal. One more thing that I observed, that I wanted to be sure to make mention of in this post is the fact that I have not seen the dero leave this home that he has carved out of the plant stem. I have observed him, on several occasions, become entangled in other vegetation. When this happens, he simply runs his head down the length of the stem, and pulls his tail through to the other end and goes on his merry way. (The head and tail together on one end of the stem can be seen in the top image below as he is making his rerouting transition.)

                               

Top: Dero turning around with anterior and posterior regions visible              Bottom: Posterior region used for identification             

Bibliography:

      Pennak, Robert W. Fresh-water Invertebrates of the United States. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.cited October 25, 2014. Print.

Micro Aquarium Underway

This botany adventure got underway Wednesday, October 15, 2014. I began my project, that consists of creating a micro aquarium. The lab class began by choosing small glass aquariums, along with a base and a top. We then reviewed several area water sources that samples had been extracted from and were to choose from these options to fill our aquariums. I chose option #1. This particular sample was taken from Tommy Schumpart pond in Kodak, TN. The following is a description of the pond and actual location. " Tommy Schumpert Pond, Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge, Kelly Lane , Knox Co. Tennessee. Partial shade exposure Sheet runoff around sink hole. N35 57.256 W83 41.503 947 ft 10/10/2010."(McFarland, 2014)
The reason that I chose this particular option was not random by any means. I spent many summers on this property as a teenager camping and fishing before Knox County purchased it. As a young boy, I lived half a mile down the road from this pond at the dead end of Kelly Lane on the old family farm raising chickens, hogs, and watermelons that still produced well in the sandy soil near the river. The watermelons were a great asset to my great grandfather on this property during the great depression. It helped his family to barter and essentially get by. This project indeed takes me back to childhood memories.
Once I chose the sample to draw from for my particular aquarium, I then took some mud from the bottom of the sample. After adding an ample amount of mud to the bottom of the aquarium, I skimmed a little water from just above the mud line and another sample from the middle of the container. After filling the aquarium to an optimal level with the sample, I then added plants to the mix. The description of the plants added can be observed below the picture of my micro aquarium.







"Plants A and B added:
Plant A . Fontinalis sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/10/2010

Plant B. Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A carnivous plant. Original material from south shore of Spain Lake (N 35o55 12.35" W088o20' 47.00), Camp Bella Air Rd. East of Sparta Tn. in White Co. and grown in water tanks outside of greenhouse at Hesler Biology Building. The University of Tennessee. Knox Co. Knoxville TN." (McFarland, 2014).

After assembling my aquarium, I took a little time to view the contents under a microscope. It did not take long to see that my sample was full of life, with a number of different organisms that will make this project very interesting. There was one particular organism that had hollowed out a piece of plant material and was using it as his home. He would come out of "his home" and use his mouth as a suction cup against the glass of the aquarium to pull himself along. I spent most of my time watching his home, that he had chosen, get stuck in the surrounding plant environment, and his struggle to break free. In my next post, I hope to name this organism and give updates on his struggles.

Bibliography:

 McFarland, Kenneth [Internet] Botany 111 Fall 2014. [cited Oct 15, 2014]. Available from http://botany1112014.blogspot.com/