Week 2

With Dr. McFarland's help I discovered Vorticella sp. in my microaquarium.

Below is an image of the specimen. Notice that it is open to "eat" organisms; also notice the lines at the top, cilia and flagella, that allow this organism to move.  I discovered that the organism was also timid, tapping the microaquarium resulted it hiding in some of the plant life. After a few seconds, it would make its way out, extend itself, and then open at the top

Below is the video I was able to capture of it

Arbur, Rosemarie. Tale of the telotroch. Microscopy UK [Internet]. 2002 [cited 2011 November 14]. Available from: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/

Week 1

To set up this project, Dr. McFarland and I went to the tanks outside of Hessler.  I'm afraid I didn't set my microaquarium up with the rest of the group, so I'm not sure which sources correspond with these tanks. He added the water, and then added Utricularia gibba L. [Flowering plant. A carnivous 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]. I then went to the lab to explore this new habitat with a microscope.