User:Christina Hwang/Notebook/Biology 210 at AU

January 20, 2014

I'm just trying to get a hang of this. I hope it works.

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January 26, 2014

Today in lab, we studied the structure of the Volvocine line, which included the Chlamydomanonas cell, Gonium cell, and the Volvox cell. The characteristics of these cells were observed using an optical microscope to view the differences in these cells and noticed varying characteristics within the members of the Volvocine Line.

Procedure I: 'Observations'

Characteristics	Chlamydomonas	Gonium	Volvox
Number of Cells	1	32	too many to count
Colony Size (µm)	2.5 µm	50 µm	340 µm
Specialization of Cells	no specialty	beginning to specialize	specialization beginning
Mechanisms of Motility	flagellum, very fast	driven by water current	not motive
Isogamous or Oogamous	isogamous	oogamous	oogamous

Procedure II: Observing a Niche at AU

The transect that my group was assigned was transect 4, which is a controlled area (a community vegetable garden). In this transect, samples of soil and leaves of different areas of the transect were collected into a sterile 50 mL tube. In this environment, both abiotic and biotic factors were observed.

http://instagram.com/p/yV1aaGAkQ8/ http://instagram.com/p/yV1ToKgkQt/ http://instagram.com/p/yV1M_YgkQm/ http://instagram.com/p/yV1GHIAkQc/

Abiotic	Biotic
snow	brussel sprouts
rocks	clover
plastic irrigation sprinkler	wood dome
plastic label	pine needles
paint	bushes

After these observations, back in the lab, my group made a Hay Infusion Culture by placing 10-12 grams of the collected samples into a jar, pouring in 50 mL of water into the jar with the samples, and placing in 0.2 grams of dried milk for food. The jar was then shaken slightly and left for a week with the lid removed.

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January 28, 2014

Procedure I: How to Use a Dichotomous Key

In this lab of "Identifying Algae and Protists", we observed and identified different types of protists by using a dichotomous key. This was done by making a wet mount of known protists. After doing so, I observed the wet mount under a microscope and identified a single organism using the dichotomous key. Using the dichotomous key, my lab partner and I made the observation that the known organism was a Paramecium multimicronucleatum. We were able to get to this conclusion because the organism was colorless, trumpet-shaped, a fast swimmer, had a cilia, and was about 250μm, which allowed us to narrow down the selection to the Paramecium multimicronucleatum. Another organism that was observed was an organism named by Colpidium, which was identified by its clear, colorless nature, small body, oval shape, and fast swimming, which was also between 50-60μm.

Procedure II: Hay Infusion Culture Observations

Within the hay infusion culture created in the last lab, an ecosystem developed. Within this ecosystem, I gathered a sample from the top layer, middle layer, and the bottom layer of the ecosystem, made wet mounts for each of the layers, and observed them under 4x, 10x, and 40x.

Top Layer Within the top layer, two types of organisms were observed and identified using the dichotomous key. 1. The first organism was colorless. Its body was covered in cilia, as well as being oval shaped (almost spherical). It was small, a fast swimmer, and it had a small mouth. It was about 52.5μm. The organism was identified to be a Colpidium http://instagram.com/p/yYUDx6gkca/

2. The second organism was long and stringy. The color was not clear; however, it did not clearly have any color. The organism was about 1100μm. The organism was identified as a Spirostomum. http://instagram.com/p/yYVl9Zgker/

Middle Layer Within the middle layer, two types of organisms were observed and identified using the dichotomous key. 1. This organism was found next to the pine needles, and was colorless and stick-like. This organism was approximately 1000μm and was identified to be a Spirostomum. http://instagram.com/p/yYWGRogkfl/

2. This organism was colorless and about 52.5μm. This organism was identified to be a Stentor. http://instagram.com/p/yYWvveAkQe/

Bottom Layer 1. This organism was black, long, and a stick-like figure. This organism was 550μm and was identified to be a Spirostomum. http://instagram.com/p/yYXRM3gkRL/

2. This organism was black, but basically colorless and was approximately 52.5μm. This organism was identified to be a Stentor. http://instagram.com/p/yYYIU7gkSj/

Observations: Within all three layers of the ecosystem of the hay infusion culture, it was observed that the Spirostomum was present.

Procedure III: Preparing and Plating Serial Dilutions In order to observe the bacteria within the hay infusion culture, we gathered a sample and created diluted samples of