What to Expect [November 6th]

I could tell when I went over to the table to pick up my micro aquarium that the food pellet was gone for the most part. After Dr. McFarland set up my microscope, the viewing began. To my surprise, there was still a lot of activity going on in my micro aquarium. Although there appeared to be no remnants of the food pellet remaining, I was able to see portions of it here and there. As I scanned across my micro aquarium, I came across an organism that was resting on the Utriculaira gibba from the south shore of Spain Lake. As I observed this organism, it seemed to extend its body, and let lose these hair-like windmills around it's mouth. As Dr. McFarland made his way around to me, he told me that what I was looking at was a rotifer (McFarland, 2013). In fact, it was the same rotifer I had observed being stationary last Wednesday. It was pretty neat seeing how it brought food particles and organisms into its mouth with its hairy windmills (as I will know call them). Figure 1. shows the Philodina as I observed it in my micro aquarium, and Figure 2. shows the Philodina as illustrated in John Wiley & Sons Inc.'s Fresh Water Invertebrates of the United States by (Wiley, 1989).

Figure 1.



Figure 2.

Following my observation of the Philodina for the second time, I ran across a worm like creature found just off the side of the Fontinalis, a moss taken from the Holsten River. Not only did the organism look like a worm, but it also moved like a worm. Dr. McFarland confirmed the organism as a  Chaetonotus (McFarland, 2013). Figure 3. shows the Chaetonotus just as I observed it in my micro aquarium. Figure 4. shows the Chaetonotus as illustrated in John Wiley & Sons Inc.'s Fresh Water Invertebrates of the United States by (Wiley, 1989).

After Dr. McFarland filled me in on the Chaetonotus, he pointed out an ameba off to the left known as a Acanthocystis (McFarland, 2013). I didn't know that it was an organism until Dr. McFarland pointed it out. I thought it was some kind of aquatic spore. Figure 5. shows the Acanthocystis as I saw it in my micro aquarium, and Figure 6. shows it as illustrated in John Wiley & Sons Inc.'s Fresh Water Invertebrates of the United States by (Wiley, 1989).

After documenting the Acanthocystis, I turn my attention elsewhere, and it wasn't long before I found another organism. This organism looked like a flea. Dr. McFarland confirmed it to be a Colep (McFarland, 2013). Figure 7 shows the Colep as I observed it in my Micro aquarium, and Figure 8. shows it as illustrated in John Wiley & Sons Inc.'s Fresh Water Invertebrates of the United States by (Wiley, 1989).