Observation #3

This week, Dr. McFarland added a food pellet to the MicroAquarium so the organisms have been growing rapidly. The space is overrun with Cyclops, and they've gotten big enough to see with then naked eye. When put under a microscope, they scatter as fast as possible, so it is hard to get a shot of them. There was one nemotode buried and wriggling in the pond scum but unable to get out.

The main attraction this week, as I assume will be every week, was the snail. It had moved up to the edge of the water and I was able to get a shot of the underside vacuum mechanism it uses to feed. An interesting note, is that it was very hard to get any shots because the cyclops kept attacking it. Every time they would attack it, it would cower back in it's shell and wait for an extended period of time to come back out. From the top, the snail looks normal, and it has a flapper on each side to steer itself. Underneath, there is a flap that helps to move the snail, and also it's mouth.

Patterson DJ. 2013. Free-living Freshwater Protozoa. London: Manson Publishing. 133 p.