’10,000 Amoebas’’ MicroAquarium Observatory Report
Matthew Ben Trest – November 24, 2008
Blog Info: R0ver, “10,000 Amoebas Under the Sea” <http://10000ameobas.blogspot.com/>
Introduction
The overall purpose of viewing a controlled water environment is so that the general ideas learned in lectures may be seen on a diverse and dynamic scale (University of Alabama). Each student was to create their own varied MicroAquarium with a selected water source and placed plant life, view over a period of four weeks, and determine changes which may occur in a diverse environment. Findings should be able to determine different life species, some idea of a life cycle for an organism, and what the growth or mortality rate in the aquarium is.
Materials and Methods
A MicroAquarium (produced by the Carolina Biological Supply Company) is labeled with colored dots and initials to identify the environment from others in the class. Then once labeled appropriately, water from a natural spring in Fountain City Park is stirred using a pipette and transferred into the MicroAquarium. The water is transferred in three distinct layers of bottom substrate, middle water, and top water in order to promote diversity within the tank. Also, plant life in the form of a moss Rhynchostegium serrulatum, and the carnivorous Utricularia vulgaris was added by personal choice, to perhaps promote relationships between organisms (University of Alabama, Habitats and Pond Water). Each aquarium is stored in a plastic container where it is retrieved each week to be observed and studied. In four successive weeks the MicroAquarium is to be observed under microscope, naked eye, and hand lens for organisms and habitat changes. Also, pictures were taken using a special microscope; these are shown and described at the end of the report. Notes and observations are continued through each week to track progress and perhaps the establishment of new organisms within the aquarium, different species are to be identified and sourced.
Results
The initial observation of the aquarium did not reveal much under a hand lens or via the eye, however under a microscope objective I was able to identify several types of organism, and get an initial estimate of population size. My first encounter was with the small single celled Paramecium aurella which were near the bottom of the tank, they move slowly and sporadically and seem to stay near a food source (Patterson, 185). Though there were only twenty estimated paramecium initially, it has shown the most growth throughout the experiment, and is therefore the chosen indicator species. Also on the bottom of the aquarium I found the anchoring protozoa Epistylis lacustris, grouped in a cluster of five or so. Moving towards the middle of the tank, there were Tachysoma pellionella rotifers, which moved in strange undulating movements, with a saw like projection occasionally moving (Lee, 460 and 553). I was able to spot some small Euglenoids, photosynthetic flagellates, along with various diatoms floating about. The uppermost portion of the tank was nearly barren of anything but plant life (Patterson, 66).
As an indicator species for my MicroAquarium, the paramecium takes a special focus and is analyzed further. The population multiplies by nearly a thousand times by the final week of observations, which means that the paramecium is an adaptable, hardy, and quickly reproducing organism. The organism is in the Eukaryotic Domain, Kingdom Protista, Phylum Ciliophora, Class Ciliatea, and order Peniculida (Patterson, 153). Simple genus and species is found to be Paramecium candatum, because of identifying traits of one nuclei and two small micronuclei, and two vacuoles (Patterson, 185). The surface is covered in dense cilia, which helps both to move and feed, propelling small bacteria into an opening. Though I was unable to catch a paramecium reproducing close enough to photograph, there were several areas which had diatoms and paramecium ‘husks’ littering, with what seemed to be paramecium undergoing mitosis on the outer edge. There is a photo of one of these areas in the tank after food had been added to boost activity. The life cycle of a paramecium occurs in two ways, the most common is meiosis of the micronuclei to produce four identical paramecia. Another way is for the nuclei to fuse after meiosis, where they undergo mitosis and division again to produce genetically varied offspring (The Smallest Page on the Web, Ciliates). This allows for the paramecium to reproduce under even strenuous circumstances.
Each week the organism populations rose, some more than others depending on which took advantage of the aquarium the specific week. A few organisms were found as populations grew, one was the small shapeless Saccamoeba fulvum, which avoided my eye early on because of its clear gel like form (Lee, 171). Also, an organism even smaller than the amoeba is an Actinosphaerum, which feeds and propels using its many water expelling vesicles, making it look like a clear sunburst (The Smalled Page on the Web, Sun Animalcules and Amoebas). Amongst the many different diatoms floating about in the aquarium I was able to identify a barrel like one which forms loose chains, it is of a type named M. Binderana (Vinyard, 92, 93). By the end of observations the populations had skyrocketed, and the communities had come to a peak and spread out to fill the entire aquarium. A final estimation of each identified population was recorded based on organisms in a given area. The findings are shown in the graph provided, and the trend is consistent across species for growth exponentially after food was added during the second week.
Discussion
After viewing a growing microscopic habitat for four weeks it is clear that diversity exists even in the most trivial of places. The exponential growth of the paramecium was much higher than could have been predicted, even fueled by the feed pellets, showing that given any ideal conditions protozoa life will multiply. Interaction between organisms and habitat was only beginning to show by the end of the observations, where colonies began to form around especially abundant moss growth. Also, as populations increased so did the size of the organisms, showing that the natural order of microorganisms may exist even in controlled situations. An interesting note may be made on the correlation with population booms and steep rise in diatom numbers. No large insect like or complex organisms appeared, thought I would hypothesize that given a different water source there could be any array of larger life. Even as the MicroAquarium observations have stopped, the life cycles taking place in the aquarium are most certainly repeating. The study of these small environments has helped to place a more realistic and pertinent view on the textbook study of a living cell.
Table Comparing Population Estimates of the MicroAquarium
| | Amoeba | Paramecium | Epistylis | Diatoms | Philodina | Tachysoma | Actinosphaerium | Euglenoids |
| Initial Count | 2 | 20 | 5 | 100 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 30 |
| Final Count | 10 | 1,000+ | 20 | 100,000+ | 50 | 250 | 50 | 300+ |
Images of MicroAquarium Organisms
Figure 1: A small single celled amoeba to the left of a tachysoma rotifer in movement.
Figure 2: One of many diatom blooms and paramecium breeding sites.
Figure 3: A paramecium and an actinosphaerium colliding, unsure which is being engulfed.
Works Cited
A MicroAquarium™ and MicroTerrarium to Discover Life. August 9, 2006. Paul G. Davison and University of North Alabama. November 22, 2008.
“The Smallest Page on the Web.” An Introduction to Microscopy. Maurice Smith and David Walker. November 22, 2008.
Lee, J.J., Gordon F. Leedale, and Phyllis Bradbury. Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa. 2nd Ed. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000.
Patterson, D.J. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Color Guide. Indianapolis, IN : Wiley, 1996.
Vinyard, William. Diatoms of North America. Eureka, CA: Mad River Press, 1977.
