Setup

On October 11, 2011 the whole class set up our micro aquariums in class.  The aquarium was made of a glass material and is only big enough to hold a few milliliters of water.  It has a base and a top for the aquarium as well.  We all had choices of which water source to put in our aquariums.  I chose sample #10 which is a water pool below a spring at Lynnhurst Cemetery.  We used two different plants to place in the aquarium.  Plant A is a Amblestegium sp. Moss. Collection from: Natural spring. at Carters Mill Park, Carter Mill Road, Knox Co. TN. Partial shade exposure. N36 01.168 W83 42.832. 10/9/2011.  Plant B is a 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. One had a course stem feel and the other was a moss.  We were told that the moss was a popular plant for organisms to live on and around.  I even saw what looked to me like a nematode swimming around the moss.  I had to use a microscope to see it of course!  We were able to take the lid off and lay the aquarium flat without any water escaping.  I thought this was like some magic show!  Lastly we took all aquariums across the hall where they will remain for 5 weeks so we can observe the changes that are taking place inside.