I really, really hate those weeks that are so busy you can't even finish a post. Especially when you have so much new information. I had an exam the same day as I gathered my info for this thing, so I probably shouldn't have put in FOUR HOURS at the lab studying. So, I'm sleep-deprived and late, but this is what SHOULD have been last week's blog post.

Hi! Welcome back to A Botany Student's Studies. Here's a new list of what I've found inside my MicroAquarium after missing about a week.

1. Vorticella sp. - This little organism reminds me a little bit of a spinning top, except it doesn't move a lot. The flagella that shows on the picture seems to anchor it in place. The top portion that spins identifies it as a vorticella because it makes spinning motions. Two of them were found in my MicroAquarium, and they were identified in the book Free Living Freshwater Protozoa on page 113, figure 233. 

2. Unknown Rotifier- This little guy looks like Mr. Nightmare from the last time, the Possible Philodena Rotifier. However, the prongs on one end differentiate the two organisms. Mr. McFarland and I looked up Rotifiers, but neither of us could find which one it really was. It looked similar to one of them, but different tails (that's the spiky end on this one) told them apart. Only one was found in the MicroAquarium.

3. "Real Small Thing" - Okay, I circled what I'm really trying to point out in blue. When it was actually moving, one flagella would turn rather like a jerky clock hand while the other flagella anchored this little organism in place. This one is markedly new to the MicroAquarium, and Mr. McFarland couldn't identify it.  Whatever it was, it was extremely small and looks sort of green. It's difficult to tell whether or not something has chlorophyll when it's as small as this little organism. This little thing had difficulty showing up on the highest resolution of the microscope I used,  so this is the best picture I could get.

4. Surinella robusta - This organism surprised Mr. McFarland. Apparently it's fairly rare. This Surinella robusta was identified from Diatoms of North America by William C. Vinyard. It looks disturbingly like a chainsaw.... Or that could be my strange imagination. It's movement, if at all, was slow. 

5. Nematode sp. - this isn't a new organism. I've seen Nematodes in my Aquarium before, but this is the first time I got a picture. These guys were identified by Ken, and I apparently misspelt the name of this organism on the picture... Forgive me. This organism is multicellular, consisting of "approximately 1,000 somatic cells." (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nematology). Potentially, hundreds of cells could be associated with reproduction for this little guy (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nematology). They can range from 0.3 mm to over 8 meters! (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nematology). One of the nematodes was moving like it was high on a sugar rush- quickly and very jerkily. 

I looked this up on Google, admittedly, but I found what I believe is a reliable source. It's cited below as well as in text. 

6. Eugleena Heliocoideus- Alright, I misspelt it again. I must have been out of it that particular lab... Anyways. This protozoa has popped up before, and I snagged a picture of it again to show that it had popped up. At least two were spotted, though I only got a picture of one this time. This organism can be identified in a certain algae book I didn't remember (I'll fix it later, I promise), page 283 and figure 386.  It doesn't really move. 

    7. I honestly just thought that this was a cool event to photograph. The amorphous one attempting to engulf the darker one is a chaos amoeba, and the darker one is a shelled amoeba. Eventually, it turned out that the shelled amoeba was too big of a prey for the chaos amoeba, and it moved on. I was simply wowed to witness the chaos amoeba in action... Even if it ended up failing in the end. 

I got some new water from the spray water bottles Mr. McFarland has up in the lab room. A food pill was added the week I missed observation, the one before this one. Otherwise, I think I've listed the current changes. Hopefully I'll manage to post my next blog completely on time...

Ciao for now.


Bibliography

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


University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nematology [Internet] [November 10, 2014] Available from
http://nematode.unl.edu/wormgen.htm