Day 5

I last observed my MicroAquarium on November 11, 2010.  Upon observing my aquarium I noticed a few changes.  There were still many bacteria, a lot of diatoms, and still many cynobacteria.  One of the many diatoms identified is known as  Navicula sp. (Tiffany and Britton, Fig. 782).  I noticed that there were less Ostracoda sp.  There were also more Euchlanis sp. that I identified in my last observation.  I observed more rotifers identified as Eplaxis sp. identified in my last observation as well.  I observed a new organism that was identified as Actinophrys sp. there were many of these tiny organisms (Patterson, Fig. 396).  There were still many cyclopes in my MicroAquarium.  These seem to be surviving well considering I also noticed several juvenile cyclopes.  There were a few of another type of rotifer that I identified as Lecane sp. (Smith, Fig. 7.36).  I also observed a few flat worms that I have not seen since the first few observations.  Overall there are less large organisms and many small bacteria and tiny organisms.

Works Cited

D.J. Patterson, Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. (Washington D.C:  ASM Press, 2003).

Douglas G. Smith, Pennak's Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States (New York:  John Wiley &
         Sons Inc, 2001)

Lewis H. Tiffany and Max E. Britton,  The Algae of Illinois. (Chicago:  Chicago Press, 1952)

Day 4

My last observation was on November 4.  During this observation I noticed that there was a great deal of bacteria that was not there the last time I observed the MicroAquarium.  There was also a lot of cynobacteria growing around the plants and in the soil.  I observed a new rotifer near the soil that moves slow and appeared to be eating, it has two flagella.  Later I identified this rotifer as Euchlanis sp.  There were also several other rotifers that I have yet to identify.  One in particular had a very unique shape, but I never could get a picture of this rotifer.  I noticed that there were fewer seed shrimp than there has been in earlier observations, however the remaining seed shrimp appear to be larger.  I noted that the cyclopes have still survived throughout my observations.  I also observed many diatoms throughout the MicroAquarium and many tiny bacteria.  Also in my observations, I noted that there were several tiny circular organisms that would spin in circles as their movement and were clear in color.  Later I identified this organism as Epalxis sp. (Patterson, Fig 311)

Work Cited
 Patterson, D. 2003. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa. Washington D.C:  ASM Press.

Rotifer mentioned in text

One of the remaining seed shrimp