The Carpenters Rule Still Rules

Observations from 11-13-07

What was once a vibrant center of life is now slowing down a bit. It seems that there are not as many multicellular organisms. On the other hand, the multicellular organisms that are left have grown larger. Algae is becoming more prevalent, and in different forms. Some of the algae seems to be larger and more fluid in appearance, that is to say that they don't appear to have definate cell walls. Other forms are appear to be more segmented or block like.

In the picture at the top right of this entry is the 'carpenters rule diatom'. This has been the most interesting organism to observe thus far. There does not seem to be a whole lot of information available on this creature. It is a diatom known professionally as Bacillaria Paxillifer. As mentioned above, many organisms seem to be slowing down or withering away, yet this diatom is going strong. I have made a few short videos of this organism and they are on the computer in room 118. I'm sure you can view them if you are interested.

Where Have All the Actinosphaerium Gone?

The creature in the photo to the right has been identified as an Actinosphaerium. This picture was taken on 10-31-07 when it was fairly simple to find one of these in the aquarium. Now, about one week later they are no where to be found. In general life seems to be slowing down in that there are less organisms to be found and what is still alive and moving is doing so at a slower pace.

Note: That is my name in the picture, not the organisms name.

Observations from 10-31-07

Many of the smaller organisms seem to be multiplying. The amount of life is visibly more than there was on day one. Much of this should seemingly be attributed to the food source that was added a few days earlier. There is a rush of activity around the food pellet as would be expected. One interesting sight to take note of was an annelid attached to another annelid moving across the bottom of the aquarium. Pictures were taken of some of the life today and hopefully will be posted during my next observation session.

Observations from 10-24-07

The first organism to catch my attention today was a rotifer that was attempting to catch lunch. The meal was some sort of one celled creature, much smaller in size than the rotifer. The most interesting part of the encounter between the two creatures was the movement of the mouth parts of the rotifer. These parts were spinning and creating a small current trying to suck the prey in. Not sure if the rotifer won. Some of the other more interesting organisms observed today were Actinopods and Annelids. The annelid looked almost identical to a snake. Also, an interesting organism called a carpenters ruler was observed. It was hard to figure out what it was doing, but its movements looked very mechanical and pre-determined. Aside from the more animal like creatures, it appears some small plant life is sprouting at the bottom of the aquarium and off of some of the sediments.

Initial Observations

The following are some of the observations that were made on the day the micro-aquariums were set up. Also, the information on the water source and plant species is given.

Water Source (12): Tennessee River at floating boat dock west of Chapman Hwy bridge - Full sun exposure

Plant Sample (C): Rhynchostegium riparioides (Hedw.) Card.

It is amazing to see how abundant and diverse the living organisms are in such a small portion of an ecosystem. Even more amazing than the diversity of life, are the physical details of such tiny creatures. Some are fairly plain looking, while others seem extremely complicated. While being caught up in all that was taking place through the microscope lens, one perfectly round creature was most interesting. After a few moments and a second look with a naked eye the creature turned out to be an air bubble. More to come...