<Mystery Pond Water Organisms>
Group 4 (Dayeon Jung, Wenyi Fu , Mariam Elias, Conner Laursen)
Our group saw creatures swimming around in the pond water sample. Here are the organisms identification that we found. We took two samples from Diane and Chloe. We used 40x magnification for each of them.
Whole view
Picture 1 Picture 2
Partial view
Organism 1: Colpoda
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Chromista
Subkingdom: Harosa
Order: Colpodida
Family: Colpodidae
Superphylum: Alveolata
Phylum: Ciliophora
Class: Colpodea
Genus: Colpoda
Defining Characteristics
- Macronucleus with brown color (kidney shaped)
- Outside is green color
- It looks like its slightly concave on one side, and concave on the other side.
Observations and comments:
Usually Colpoda are found in moist soil and they are able to quickly enter the protective cysts and will also be found in desiccated samples of vegetation and soil as well as in some temporary natural pools as tree holes.
References
"Colpoda." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species." WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Organism 2: Stephanodiscus
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Chromista
Order: Thalassiosirales
Family: Stephanodiscaceae
Subphylum: Bacillariophytina
Phylum: Heterokontophyta
Class: Bacillariophyceae
Genus: Stephanodiscus
Defining Characteristics
- Brown color with round shape
- Nucleus is very clear and on the top
Observations and comments:
Stephanodiscus has a circular valve view with uniserial punctae near the center and radial multiserial punctae out from the central area. There is a circle of spines protruding near the periphery from the smooth areas between the rows of punctae.
References
"Genus Detail." :: Algaebase. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Organism 3: Chilomonas
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Protista
Subkingdom: Protophyta
Phylum: Cryptophyta
Order: Cryptomonadales
Family: Campylomonadaceae
Genus: Chilomonas
Defining Characteristics
- Green color and with oval shape
- stay together
Observations and comments:
Chilomonas is heterotrophic, and a genus of cryptophytes. It also doesn’t have chromatophores (pigment-containing structures) and lives by ingesting organic matter.
References
"Chilomonas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Taxonomic Information: Chilomonas Paramecium;inf." Organism: Chilomonas Paramecium;inf. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Organism 4: Spirogyra
Domain: Eukaryote
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Apusozoa
Division: Chlorophyta
Class: Zygnematophyceae
Order: Zygnematales
Family: Zygnemataceae
Genus: Spirogyra
Defining Characteristics
- Clear cell wall
- Slimy filamentous green masses
- Grows under water
- It can reproduce both sexually and asexually
Observations and comments:
When there is no enough sunlight and warmth, spirogyras produce huge amounts of oxygen as bubbles between the filaments and tangled. Then the filamentous masses come to the surface and appear as slimy green mats.
References
"Spirogyra." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Welcome to the PLANTS Database | USDA PLANTS." Welcome to the PLANTS Database | USDA PLANTS. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.
Organism 5: Gloeocapsa
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Eubacteria
Subkingdom: Negibacteria
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Chroococcales
Family: Microcystaceae
Genus: Gloeocapsa
Defining Characteristics
- It looks like some green dots
- It appears to be only one cell since the new cells temporarily get together
- They are also known as “Glow caps”
Observations and comments:
Some of the gloeocapsa species are halophiles and they are found in hypersaline lakes and in other high salinity environments.
References
"Algaebase."Algaebase. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Hey guys, great post! I think you had alot of really unique organisms which is cool since our group didn't see alot of the same things so it's really fun to see something different. I also really like that you guys were able to see some of the Gleocapsa which were something that we had seen in our lab on slides, so it's really neat to be able to see it in real life! I also like that you guys did some photos from a distance, and also zoomed in on some of the organisms so you could really see what they looked like both up close and at a lower magnification. I think you guys did a great job, and I really enjoyed your post!
ReplyDeleteHey guys! I really enjoyed your post. You included a lot of organisms that I didn't even know existed. I think it's really interesting that some things that just look like random spots (i.e. colpoda and stephanodiscus) are actually Eukaryotic organisms and are heavily prevalent in simple pond water. It really shows how diverse our world is, and I wonder how much more we could have seen at the highest (oil immersion) magnification. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey guys, great post! Besides for spirogyna, my group did not take notice of any of the organisms you guys talked about. It was interesting to learn about them from your post. I liked how you included pictures of the organisms at 40x where I was able to see all the diverse organisms in the pond water. After going through your detailed writing of each of the organisms you identified, I could easily go back to the first picture and point them out. It was nice to be able to compare the size of the organisms you talked about in the first picture such as the Colpoda with the Chilomonas to the right of it. Overall, I learnt about quite a few new organisms from your post so great job!
ReplyDeleteI like how you guys showed the whole view of your picture and then zoomed in on your organisms it made it much easier to know exactly what I was looking at. My favorite of the organisms you guys were able to determine is the cute little Stephanodiscus. I think its interesting that you were able to observe a species that live in environments that are of high salinity. What I'm wondering from reading your post is how you were able to determine that the gleocapsa and chilomonas were different species since to me they appear to be almost identical?
ReplyDelete