Week 2

I started my observation by doing a brief scan of the micro-aquarium thus far. I found that usually the organisms were more attracted to the soil area, more than the plants located at the top. The plants seem to be doing their job of creating food, as most of the micro-organisms I found seemed to be either feeding currently or on a quest for food. Most of the organisms I found were of the same caliber as my first observation. They were moving, usually fast, and some were moving in a whip like manner. The only difference is that many I saw today were multi-cellular, instead of single-celled. I did, however, witness a more wide variety of organisms. Everything, from diatoms, to algae, to protozoa. I chose two of these which I obtained pictures of and cited them with the books provided.

The organism above was a Fragilaria. I cited this with the book, The Fresh-Water Algae of The United States. Smith G M. The Fresh-Water Algae of The United States. New York (NY): McGraw-Hill Book Company; 1950. 479 p. I could not find much information on a basic type of this Fragilaria, but according to the book referenced above, it dwells in small lakes and rivers.

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This above organism is a Pinnularia. Canter-Lund H. Freshwater Algae- their microscopic world explored. Hong Kong: Biopress Limited; 1995. 118-119 p. The pinnularia is a freshwater algae, and this particular one is photosynthetic. Information also obtained from the book source listed above.

Everything else seemed as usual, but it makes me wonder if anything else beside the number of organisms found will change. I will keep this in mind in the coming weeks.