First Day of Project

First Day of The Project
Tuesday October 14, 2014

By: Ravenna Nightgale

         Alright, today we made our micro aquarium. It was pretty intriguing to make, after we'd gotten done with the mandatory test over last section's materials and the activity for the main part of Lab Class. I'll go over the basics of how the Micro Aquarium was made today, as well as some notes on where the water came from and that kind of thing. Also, there were at least two organisms Mr. MacFarland and I spotted already in my Micro Aquarium.

1. We got the Micro Aquarium itself, the base to hold it up, the lid to the Micro Aquarium and sticky to seal the water in. 
2. We then stuck stickers on the Micro Aquarium itself so we could keep straight whose Aquarium was whose. At least, that was the idea. The pattern was stickers for your section, your table number, and your respective usual seat. My code is green-yellow-red, respectively. 
3. We were also asked to initial at least two of the stickers as further precaution. 
4. The students in class divided up to get water from the various sources and dripped it into the Micro Aquariums, along with some of the dirt that had come along with the water. 
5. After you had gotten both mud and dirt from one of the 12 sources, you would find which two water-weeds you wanted to use in the Aquarium to oxygenate the water (we had to be careful not to obscure the glass, and still get enough to work properly) 
6.  When you finished using the dissection tweezers to put the weed into the Micro Aquarium, you would stick the lid back onto the top using the BlueStick sticky substance given to you earlier. 
7. Turn it into the box that would take it up to the Lab we would visit to see it again. 

          I chose water from Source 12, water from a pool below a spring in Fountain City Park with the accompanying soil.  Here's the information from the last page on where exactly that is.

Water pool below spring. Fountain City Park west of Broadway at Hotel Ave. Knox Co. Knoxville TN. Full shade exposure Spring Feed Pond N36 02.253 W83 55.986 990 ft 10/12/2014

       Of course, I added it to my experiment on the 14th of October. Now for the information on the plants used in the Micro Aquarium. I added both of these.

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. 10/12/2014

Utricularia gibba L. Flowering plant. A
carnivorous 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.
10/12/2014

         Since this is the first day these things were put together, there wasn't much to be observed in my Micro Aquarium. Mr. MacFarland did spot a seed shrimp, and I spotted what might be a nimitoad. Mr. MacFarland identified both of them. I also didn't get any images, as we haven't gotten onto the microscopes that can do that kind of thing yet.  It was really intriguing watching the seed shrimp burrowing into the soil, though... I'd never seen something like it before.