Week One: MicroAquarium Set Up

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

MicroAquarium Set Up - An Inquiry into the Dynamic Microorganisms in Our Environment

Today was the first day of beginning our term project. I am VERY EXCITED to begin this project! I have never really done anything like this before, and I am looking forward to watching all the critters grow! We first began with Dr. McFarland presenting a lecture on how to set up our MicroAquarium, what to expect, and how to tend to it for the next 5 weeks. He presented to us several different water sources to choose from for our project.

We first began the process by putting together the glass MircoAquarium set, which consisted of a glass tank, a stand holder, and a lid. We then coded our tank with the color dots provided. A total of three dots were stuck on the front upper left corner of our tank to help distinguish our lab section, the table where we sit, and the seat number at our table. We then wrote our initials on the dots to claim our tank.

The next step was to select a water source and to begin filling our tank with the chosen water. I chose the container in front of me at my table, number 7, from Third Creek at Tyson Park. Knox Co. Knoxville TN Partial shade exposure. N30 57 13.53 W83 56 32.37 824 ft. 10/14/2013 (McFarland, 2013). Using a pipet, I began to extract water from the bottom of the container (to acquire debris from the water) and filled my tank about 1/3 of the way. I then extracted the next 1/3 of water from the middle layer, and the last 1/3 of water from the surface of the water source. I slid the tank into its stand so that I could then easily add different plant life to my tank. We were required to add three different types of plants or mosses.

The plants I choose were:

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. 10/13/201

Amblestegium varium (Hedwig) Lindberg. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/13/2013

Fontinalis sp. Moss.  Collected from: Holston River along John Sevier Hwy under I 40 Bridge Partial shade exposure Holston River water Shed N36 00.527 W83 49.549 823 ft 10/13/2013

Now, the fun begins! My MicroAquarium is ready to go and I can start to observe it under a microscope. Removing the stand, I gently tilted the tank and laid it flat on the stage of the microscope (a very cool aspect of the MicroAquarium is that it won't spill out!). It being the very first observation, only a few organisms were able to be seen. I saw worm like creatures, as well insect larva. There was also a jumping critter or two that I was not able to identify because it moved so quickly! The larva looked as though they were feeding on the plants and mosses. Next week I should be able to record more movement. I am very anxious to see how my MicroAquarium has grown over the week!