User:Marshal G. MacCartney/Notebook/Biology 210 at AU

Observe, Identify, and Understand Plantae and Fungi from Group 4 Transect, 2015-02-04

This study was performed to view plant and fungi life growing or dead within the transect area. In regards to plants, it was necessary to observe the differences of characteristics that make plants so varied. In regards to fungi, it was necessary to acknowledge the function and understand the importance this group has on ecosystems and life in general. From the purpose of the study it can be expressed that there will be a variety of diverse plants and fungi taken from transect group 4 due to its location within a community garden.

Obtained three Ziplock bags. Took samples of leaf litter, plant matter and soil placed into one bag. Took representative samples of five different plants (Brussels sprout, Shelf mushroom, weed, kale leaf, and clover) without damaging the plant too much and placed into a second bag. Took sample of dormant shrubs, scattered pine needles and put into the third bag. Returned to lab. Observed all of the five samples and filled out chart provided by the lab manual. Set up a Berlese funnel with the remaining leaf litter.

Transect Sample Plants	Location and # in transect	Description (size and shape)	Vascularization	Specialized Stuctures	Mechanisms of Reproduction
#1	Northwest, Brussels sprout vegetation box	Brussels srpout, green/brown, ~3.0 cm in diameter, round w/ short stem	Vascular xylem and phloem	Oravy, ovule	Angiosperm (seeds)
#2	Northeast, on the side of the lettuce vegetation box	Shelf mushroom, orange/brown, ~3 cm in diameter, half circle shape	Hyphae	Rhizoid, basidomycota	sexual basido spores
#3	Inbetween the northwestern vegetation boxes	Weed, tan/brown, ~7 cm long, ~0.75 cm long needles,	Stem and needles, xylem and phloem	No stomata, needle like structures	spores on needles
#4	Southwest, Kale vegetstion box	Kale leaf, green/leafy/ tough, ~6 cm-by-~3 cm	Dicot, bundles in rings	Guard cells, Cuticle, stomata, cell walls, chlorophyll	Angiosperm (seeds)
#5	Inbetween the northwestern vegetation boxes	Clover/weed, green/flimsy, long/stringy, ~19 cm long from root to tip	xylem and phloem, long roots	Guard cells, stomata, chlorophyll	Angiosperm (seeds)

The leaves taken from the transect were most brownish/grey and were dead. The leaves came from the two living plants within the transect, Brussels sprout and Kale. The pine needles collected were most likely blown into the transect from the surrounding area. There were not tangible seeds that could be brought back to the lab. However, the Brussels sprout plant is an angiosperm that could have flowers when in blooming season. Furthermore, spores were identified on plant number 3 which was examined under a microscope to prove that spores were present. Fungi sporangia are small round structures that grow upward. They are important because they contain cells used for fungus reproduction called spores. The proposed hypothesis can be confirmed because there was a variety of plants that could be collected from the transect; however, in regards to fungi only one sample could be found thus providing evidence that there is not an abundance of difference types of fungi.

-M.M.

Identifying Bacteria from Group 4 Culture Plates, 2015-01-28

This experiment was performed to understand the basic differences in bacteria, view bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and understand the procedures and reasons to due so. When looking at the basic differences it consists of classifying the bacteria according to cell morphology which entails size, shape and other various physical qualities. The bacteria can be categorized into six prokaryotic sub categories that are depend upon morphology as well nutritional requirements and lastly their DNA. It is proposed, if there are resistant stands of bacteria within the Hay Infusion Culture that were grown on the plates then, there will be less colonies formed than on the plates with out the antibiotics.

The Hay Infusion Culture was inspected and observed. Both sets of culture plates were brought to the table and separated according to whether they contained tetracycline or not. A rough count was taken for all of the colonies grown on each plate, the number was recorded. Samples were taken from both normal nutrient agar plates and the plates with nutrient agar + tetracycline from the 10^3 and 10^9 plates and made into wet mounts there were viewed and studied to determine morphology. The use of the 100X lens with oil was needed in order to observe the samples. Furthermore, four gran stain slides two from the nutrient agar plates and two from the nutrient agar + tetracycline plates from the 10^3 and 10^9 plates. Went through the gram staining procedure, found on page 30 of the lab manual. Observed the stained slides and recorded all observations.

Lab 3 Notebook charts.xlsx

I do not believe there are any Archaea species bacteria in the samples due to the rather un-extreme the environment the transect location is in. When observing the Hay Infusion Culture the smell is about the same is foulness but there is a lot more decay and scum growth. These changes may be due to the microorganisms living in the culture. If the culture is left untouched then, the organisms living in it will continue to live and go though their life processes which will lead to the complete decay of most objects which will increase the foulness of the smell. Based on the data recorded and observed with the plates, the wet mount slides and the gram stain slides it is inferred that there are antibiotic-resistant bacteria that has grown on the nutrient agar + tetracycline plates and is alive and thriving. When looking just at the plates there is no apparent difference with the majority of the colonies in both sets of plates. This indicates that the bacteria on the plates are roughly the same type however, there is just a mutation within the population that allowed for growth on the plates with the tetracycline. There is about half the amount of bacteria in the agar + tetracycline plates when comparing them to the agar plates. There are quite a few different species that seem to be unaffected by the tetracycline but the exact number is unknown. Tetracycline works by inhibiting the production of proteins. Specifically, it does not allow transfer-RNA from binding to the (A) site on a ribosome. It affects both gram positive and gram negative bacteria, parasitic protozoans, chlamydiae, rickettsiae, and some mycroplasams. (Chopra, 2001). The hypothesis discussed in the beginning of the notebook was proven true, there are less colonies of bacteria on the tet. plates than the normal agar plates.

Chopra, Ian, and Marilyn Roberts. "Tetracycline Antibiotics: Mode of Action, Applications, Molecular Biology, and Epidemiology of Bacterial Resistance." Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews. American Society for Microbiology, June 2001. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC99026/>.

-M.M.

Identifying Protists and Algae from the Group 4 Hay Infusion Culture, 2015-01-21

Within this Hay Infusion Culture the 500 mLs of water in the jaw acts as its own ecosystem. Inside this small, simple ecosystem are different niches that organisms can live in. These organisms can vary upon location in the jar as well as depths all depending on their life necessities and which area they are best adapted for. In this lab protists and algae will try to be observed as well as any other organisms that are competing for the same resources as well as utilizing all biotic and abiotic factors. With quite a bit of diversity within the culture it is predicted that there will be organisms that are different from the two sample depths that were taken due to competition.

The culture was brought to the lab table without disturbing or mixing its contents. The smell was observed as well as its appearance, all observations were recorded and documented. Two samples were taken from the culture, one from the top of the waters surface and the second from the bottom mucky area. Wet mounts were made from the separate niches and put under a compound microscope to observe what organisms were present using a dichotomous key to help separate the observations. The organisms observed were measured, recorded and drawn.

The initial observations are as followed: smell- bad, foul, moist, decaying; appearance- murky, bottom layer is soft, wet, lose soil, top (surface)layer filled with scum or mold; middle(water) layer is brownish in color and not transparent; objects in suspension- pine needle, shriveled Brussels sprout, leaf speckled with white mold. The first sample was taken from on top of the floating decomposing leaf, and the second was taken from the bottom amidst the soil and muck in the center of the jar. Organisms might differ from there locations because near the leaf there may be decomposers or organisms that feed on decomposers and near the bottom where the human eye can only see wet soil there may be nutrients or a food source for a different type of organism to survive. After observing the wet mounts six organisms were studied all of which were protozoans. From the bottom sample wet mount a motile- Paramecium Aurelia ~130μm, a non-motile- Gonium colony ~90μm in diameter and a motile- Colpidium ~60μm were all observed and recorded. From the top sample wet mount a motile- Pelomyxa ~2mm, a motile- Paramecium ~140μm, and a non-motile- Pandorina colony ~212μm were all observed and recorded. According to page two of the Freeman text the Paramecium Aurelia found from the bottom layer wet mount meets all the needs of life. In the energy department a Paramecium engulfs smaller organisms to obtain the necessary energy to survive. A Paramecium is a unicellular organism that is protected by a cell membrane. Paramecium Aurelia has genetic info and can horizontally transfer some of its DNA to other members of its species. In regards to replication it can sexually or asexually reproduce and is the result of evolution.

(Figure 1; Paramecium Aurelia found on both the top and bottom Hay Infusion samples)

(Figure 2: Gonium colony found on the bottom layer of the Hay Infusion)

(Figure 3: Colpidium found on the bottom layer of the Hay Infusion)

(Figure 4: Pelomyxa found on the top layer of the Hay Infusion)

(Figure 5: Pandorina colony found on the top layer of the Hay Infusion)

This Hay Infusion Culture seems to not have been contaminated to the best of knowledge and is thriving with various types of life at all depths. The data collected supports that there are different organisms at various depths but what is also true is that there is the same type of organism that can survive at both the surface and the bottom and that is the Paramecium. It was quite difficult to find and identify the organisms and if replicated it may be best to use the "slowmo" oil. Furthermore more than one wet mount was made for each layer in order to find and identify the organisms. It would be interesting to see if the Hay Infusion Culture could survive on its own for two months. In my opinion I think it would survive but the quality and the amount of life would significantly decrease. Furthermore, carrying capacity in regards to resources available would be a huge selective pressure that would kill off portions of the population within each niche and could affect the overall ecosystem that is the Hay Infusion Culture.

-M.M.

American University Transect: Group 4, 2015-01-14

The amount of organisms through out the world keep increasing due to new organisms being discovered everyday. These organisms can live in a variety of places. At American University it will be observed what organisms are present in the soil all across campus. Due to the location where this sample was taken it is predicted that there will be a decent amount of life such as bacteria, protists, plants, and animals living together in this one area.

Went to the group 4 transect site to examine the biotic and abiotic factors of the niche. A 20meter-by-20meter square was observed and from that the soil samples were taken from all over the site and combined in a 50 mL sterile conical tube. Returned to the lab with the soil sample and made Hay Infusion Culture. Comprised of 11 grams of the soil sample, 500 mLs of deer park water, 0.1 grams of dried milk in a plastic jar. Mixed ingredients for 10 seconds and left out in the lab with the lid removed.

The transect where group 4 took the soil samples was northwest of the soccer field in a campus garden that is gated off from the rest of the of the normal grass by a 10 foot high plastic gate. Inside the transect area there are four separate wooden boxes that vegetation could be grown in. At the time Brussels sprouts and Kale were being grown in two separate boxes of the four that were there. Soil samples were taken from each of the boxes as well as from two other sections of the transect outside the boxes. In addition to the soil that was collected rabbit feces, a Brussels sprout, Kale leaf, snow, a pine needle, a dead leaf and grass was included. All things went normal when making the Hay Infusion Culture. Abiotic factors include: direct sunlight, frozen soil, frost/ice on plants, four wooden vegetation boxes, plastic fencing, plastic irrigation hoses. Biotic factors include: grass, decomposing plant matter, animal traffic(feces), kale, Brussels sprouts, clover.

This lab was merely the process of obtaining the soil sample and setting up the Hay Infusion Culture. From just inspecting it with the naked eye there is a lot of diversity in the soil sample and should provide a positive environment to allow living organisms to survive.

-M.M.

1/28/2015 Figured out -M.M.