13-1016 13-1017

Instruction Manual

Micr A

quarium™

MicroA

quarium™

Instruction Manual

Tab

le o

f Co

nte

nts

Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Co

nten

t Stan

dard

s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Materials

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Backg

rou

nd

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Gu

idelin

es for U

se . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Gen

eral Meth

od

s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

View

ing

Tip

s and

Ob

servation

al Tech

niq

ues

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Oth

er Man

ipu

lation

s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Cu

lturin

g an

d O

bservin

g P

roto

zoa

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Cu

lturin

g, O

bservin

g, an

d K

eepin

g S

mall A

nim

als . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Cu

lturin

g an

d O

bservin

g Fu

ng

i and

Plan

ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Estab

lishin

g a P

on

d W

ater Micro

cosm

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Feedin

g Y

ou

r Po

nd

Water M

icroco

sm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Disco

vering

Aq

uatic Life in

Terrestrial E

nviro

nm

ents

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Ad

ditio

nal R

esou

rces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Related

Pro

du

cts From

Caro

lina

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

©2006 C

arolina Biological S

upply Com

panyP

rinted in US

A

23

Overview

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is a slide-m

ou

nt an

d cu

lture vessel in

on

e. Sm

allaq

uatic o

rgan

isms w

ithin

its cham

ber can

be exam

ined

with

or w

itho

ut a

micro

scop

e. Man

ipu

lated in

simp

le yet un

iqu

e ways, it is a versatile, easy-

to-u

se too

l for co

nd

uctin

g exp

erimen

ts, investig

ating

natu

ralen

viron

men

ts, and

stud

ying

the n

atural h

istory o

f cyano

bacteria, p

rotists,

plan

ts, anim

als, and

fun

gi. T

his stu

rdy w

ater cham

ber h

as macro

scop

icap

peal an

d is d

esign

ed to

do

ub

le as a micro

scop

e slide w

et mo

un

t.M

acrosco

pically, livin

g o

rgan

isms are d

isplayed

with

in a th

in, easily

backlig

hted

micro

cosm

wh

ich at arm

s leng

th allo

ws sm

all org

anism

s (e.g

., sing

le-celled Param

ecium) to

be seen

with

the n

aked eye. U

nd

er am

icrosco

pe o

r han

d len

s, the stru

ctural d

etails of m

any o

rgan

isms are

revealed. M

any o

f the classic “p

on

d w

ater” org

anism

s stud

ied in

the

bio

log

y curricu

lum

can b

e con

venien

tly cultu

red an

d/o

r main

tained

with

inth

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Disp

layed as a classro

om

aqu

arium

or as a p

erson

ald

esktop

aqu

arium

, the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ is su

re to p

rovo

ke interest.

Content Standards

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is app

rop

riate for stu

den

ts of an

y grad

e level and

add

resses the fo

llow

ing

Natio

nal S

cience C

on

tent S

tand

ards:

Gra

des K

–4

Life

Scie

nce

•C

haracteristics o

f org

anism

s

•Life cycles o

f org

anism

s

•O

rgan

isms an

d en

viron

men

ts

Gra

des 5

–8

Life

Scie

nce

•S

tructu

re and

fun

ction

in livin

g system

s

•R

epro

du

ction

and

hered

ity

•R

egu

lation

and

beh

avior

•P

op

ulatio

ns an

d eco

systems

•D

iversity and

adap

tation

s of o

rgan

isms

54

water, th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

do

es no

t spill w

hen

laid flat u

po

n a

micro

scop

e slide. A

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

with

anim

al and

plan

t life can b

em

aintain

ed fo

r days, w

eeks, and

even years. M

any n

atural p

hen

om

ena,

inclu

din

g th

e interactio

ns b

etween

living

org

anism

s, can b

e ob

served an

dp

ho

tog

raph

ed at an

y time—

especially as seen

thro

ug

h a m

icrosco

pe.

Estab

lished

cultu

res are instan

tly and

always read

y to b

e ob

served. G

ivenn

o w

et mo

un

ts to p

repare an

d n

o clean

up

afterward

s, mo

re time is

available fo

r ob

servation

s.

With

in an

establish

ed M

icroA

qu

arium

™, o

rgan

isms in

teract with

on

ean

oth

er in an

enviro

nm

ent sim

ilar to th

eir natu

ral enviro

nm

ent. In

terstitialsp

aces, a ben

tho

s of sed

imen

t, and

bio

films—

each an

aspect o

fm

icroco

sms fo

un

d in

natu

re—ch

aracterize the artificial h

abitat w

ithin

the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Ob

serving

the artificial m

icroco

sm w

ithin

aM

icroA

qu

arium

™ d

oes little to

distu

rb th

e spatial o

rgan

ization

and

activein

teraction

betw

een o

rgan

isms an

d th

eir ph

ysical enviro

nm

ent. It is

com

mo

n to

find

ind

ividu

al org

anism

s seemin

gly co

nten

t, bro

wsin

g fo

rfo

od

in fam

iliar surro

un

din

gs su

ch th

at slow

ing

agen

ts (often

recom

men

ded

for stan

dard

wet m

ou

nt p

reparatio

ns) aren

’t need

ed. In

add

ition

, org

anism

s can b

e seen in

variou

s persp

ectives as they m

ove

abo

ut, an

d u

po

n, su

rrou

nd

ing

sub

strates and

on

e ano

ther.

Th

ese features m

ake the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ a rem

arkable d

evice. Sim

ple

and

easy to u

se, the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ can

emp

ow

er mo

re of u

s to co

nn

ectw

ith w

orld

s beyo

nd

ou

r no

rmal exp

erience. W

hen

viewed

with

am

icrosco

pe, o

rdin

ary places h

arbo

r extraord

inary life. T

he sim

plicity o

f the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

allow

s even ch

ildren

to d

iscover life at sm

all scale.R

ichard

Lou

v's insp

iring

bo

ok, Last C

hild in the Woods: S

aving Our

Children from

Nature-D

eficit Disorder, is fu

ll of reaso

ns w

hy w

e, and

especially ch

ildren

, need

to co

nn

ect with

natu

re. Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

canh

elp fu

lfill this n

eed an

d allo

w m

ore p

eop

le to affiliate w

ith even

the tin

iesto

f creatures.

Micro

scop

ic org

anism

s exist all arou

nd

us. In

the w

ord

s of E

.O. W

ilson

(p

p. 177–178), “T

hey are everyw

here b

ut it takes a sp

ecial eye to fin

dth

em.” U

nfo

rtun

ately, far too

few p

eop

le have m

eanin

gfu

l, po

sitiveen

cou

nters w

ith tin

y org

anism

s that are co

mm

on

in o

rdin

ary hab

itats. To

the co

ntrary, m

ost p

eop

le are qu

ick to eq

uate m

icrosco

pic life w

ith“g

erms”—

a sentim

ent in

con

flict with

reality. Wh

ile there are g

erms an

dp

arasites that can

and

do

harm

hu

man

s, mo

st micro

-life is incap

able o

fin

flicting

direct h

arm u

po

n u

s. Rath

er, micro

-life can b

e a sou

rce of

enjo

ymen

t becau

se life at this scale o

ffers man

y op

po

rtun

ities for

disco

very. As a cu

lture an

d o

bservatio

n ch

amb

er the M

icroA

qu

arium

™m

akes it relatively easy for o

ne to

ob

serve and

disco

ver life histo

ry traits of

Gra

des 9

–12

Life

Scie

nce

•T

he cell

•In

terdep

end

ence o

f org

anism

s

•M

atter, energ

y, and

org

anizatio

n in

living

systems

•B

ehavio

r of o

rgan

isms

Materials

13-1

016 M

icro

Aq

uariu

m™

13-1

017 M

icro

Aq

uariu

m™

(pack o

f 10)

MicroA

quarium™

chamber

10 MicroA

quarium™

chambers

MicroA

quarium™

lid10 M

icroAquarium

™ lids

MicroA

quarium™

stand10 M

icroAquarium

™ stands

MicroA

quarium™

Instruction Manual

MicroA

quarium™

Instruction Manual

No

te:Fo

r you

r con

venien

ce, we h

ave listed th

rou

gh

ou

t this m

anu

al the

catalog

item n

um

bers o

f pro

du

cts available fro

m C

arolin

a Bio

log

icalS

up

ply C

om

pan

y (with

the p

refix, RN

-). For p

ricing

and

oth

er info

rmatio

n,

please refer to

the m

ost recen

t Carolina™

Science

catalog

, call toll free 800-

334-5551, or visit th

e Caro

lina B

iolo

gical S

up

ply C

om

pan

y Web

site atw

ww

.carolin

a.com

.

Background

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is a 2- ×3-in

ch (50 ×

75 mm

) water cell w

ith a

capacity o

f ca. 5 mL. T

he sm

all size is of g

reat con

venien

ce in sto

ring

mu

ltiple cu

ltures in

a small am

ou

nt o

f space. T

he M

icroA

qu

arium

™ is

similar to

larger aq

uariu

ms in

that it is o

pen

across th

e top

dim

ensio

n. A

sw

ith an

y aqu

arium

, foo

d, w

ater, and

ind

ividu

al org

anism

s can b

e add

ed o

rrem

oved

as need

ed. D

ue to

the n

arrow

op

enin

g (ab

ou

t 2 mm

wid

e), it will

accept o

nly th

ose o

rgan

isms th

in o

r small en

ou

gh

to fit th

rou

gh

its narro

wo

pen

ing

. Th

e nu

mb

er of d

ifferent typ

es of o

rgan

isms o

r species kn

ow

n th

atw

ill fit with

in a M

icroA

qu

arium

™ is in

the h

un

dred

s of th

ou

sand

s! Man

y of

these o

rgan

isms are m

icrosco

pic an

d can

be o

bserved

on

ly with

am

icrosco

pe. M

any o

thers are m

acrosco

pic an

d visib

le to th

e naked

eye.

A M

icroA

qu

arium

™ su

pp

orted

by a stan

d an

d restin

g o

n a d

esk or

win

do

wsill serves w

ell for casu

al viewin

g an

d can

be en

joyed

just as o

ne

enjo

ys a larger aq

uariu

m. A

closer lo

ok at th

e con

tents is p

ossib

le with

ah

and

lens (th

e base o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ stan

d serves as a b

race tostead

y the h

and

lens at p

rop

er focal d

istance). T

he M

icroA

qu

arium

™ is

un

iqu

ely adap

ted fo

r micro

scop

e use. D

ue to

the cap

illary retentio

n o

f

76

Guidelines for U

se•

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is easily bro

ken b

y pressu

re exerted u

po

n its

face. To

avoid

breakag

e wh

ile han

dlin

g, alw

ays ho

ld th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ b

y the ed

ges. D

o n

ot p

ress on

the face o

f the

cham

ber.

Do

Ho

ld b

y E

dg

es

Do

No

t Pre

ss o

n F

ace

•W

hen

laid flat u

po

n a m

icrosco

pe stag

e, even w

itho

ut a lid

, the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

will n

ot sp

ill, du

e to th

e capillary reten

tion

of w

ater.H

ow

ever, tilting

an o

pen

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

too

far or h

old

ing

it up

side-

do

wn

will sp

ill the co

nten

ts. Th

erefore, u

se of th

e lid is reco

mm

end

ed.

Do

Lay F

lat

Do

No

t Tilt

•D

o n

ot exp

ose livin

g cu

ltures to

excessive heat. G

iven th

e hig

h su

rfacearea in

relation

to th

e small vo

lum

e, the co

nten

ts of th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ w

ill heat u

p q

uickly w

hen

expo

sed to

warm

temp

eratures. Lim

it the exp

osu

re time to

heat fro

m lig

ht b

ulb

s belo

wth

e stage in

dissectin

g m

icrosco

pes. B

rief expo

sure to

hig

htem

peratu

res (e.g., a h

ot car) w

ill kill mo

st inverteb

rates.

•D

o n

ot o

verfeed. E

xcessive feedin

g w

ill favor b

acterial gro

wth

and

canresu

lt in th

e loss o

f org

anism

al diversity. M

ost cu

ltures w

ill do

well

wh

en “starved

” for several w

eeks.

man

y org

anism

s. To

qu

ote T

ho

mas E

isner in

his extrao

rdin

ary bo

ok, For

Love of Insects(p

. 268), “To

disco

ver for yo

urself w

hat is alread

y kno

wn

can still b

e a sou

rce of w

on

der—

wh

ich is w

hy th

e stud

y of n

ature can

never d

isapp

oin

t.”

In exp

lorin

g th

e edu

cation

al uses o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™, several h

un

dred

cultu

res, man

y taken fro

m field

hab

itats, have b

een estab

lished

. Follo

win

gis a list o

f the m

ajor typ

es of o

rgan

isms m

aintain

ed fo

r extend

ed p

eriod

s.

Zo

olo

gic

al O

rgan

ism

s

sarcod

ines (n

aked an

d testate am

oeb

ae)

ciliates (man

y types)

flagellates (esp

. Peranema

and

Euglena)

hyd

ra (esp. C

hlorohydra)

plan

arians

micro

turb

ellarians

gastro

trichs

rotifers

nem

atod

es

tardig

rades (w

ater bears)

ann

elids (b

oth

freshw

ater olig

och

aetes and

marin

e po

lychaetes)

mo

llusks (sn

ails, fing

ernail clam

s)

arthro

po

ds (cru

staceans, arach

nid

s, insects)

Bo

tan

ical O

rgan

ism

s

cyano

bacteria (m

any typ

es)

bryo

ph

ytes (bo

th terrestrial an

d aq

uatic sp

ecies of m

osses an

d liverw

orts)

ang

iosp

erms (esp

. the carn

ivoro

us U

tricularia)

water m

old

s

slime m

old

s

algae (m

any typ

es)

98

Wate

r

To

fill initially, u

se sou

rce water fro

m th

e cultu

re or en

viron

men

t bein

gin

vestigated

. If sou

rce water is u

navailab

le, use an

y of th

e follo

win

g:

bo

ttled sp

ring

water (R

N-13-2450), d

istilled w

ater, aged

tap w

ater, sterilizedp

on

d w

ater, or an

y aqu

arium

-safe water. C

hlo

rinatio

n a

lert:S

om

e tapw

ater no

w co

ntain

s chlo

ramin

es as disin

fectant ag

ents. C

hlo

ramin

es aren

ot rem

oved

by ag

ing

tap w

ater. Instead

, treat the w

ater with

ad

echlo

rinato

r specifically fo

rmu

lated to

remo

ve chlo

ramin

es (i.e., C

arolin

a's RN

-67-1939 or R

N-67-1985 w

ater con

ditio

ners). If in

d

ou

bt, co

ntact yo

ur lo

cal water treatm

ent p

lant. T

o m

inim

ize min

erald

epo

sits in th

e evapo

ration

zon

e, distilled

water is reco

mm

end

ed to

replace evap

orative w

ater loss.

Lab

elin

g

An

ind

ividu

al Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

may b

e labeled

with

an ad

hesive lab

elstrip

cut fro

m a m

ailing

label o

r with

“colo

r cod

ing

labels” (ad

hesive p

aper

do

ts, 1/ 4″d

iameter). Lab

els sho

uld

be p

laced w

here th

ey will n

ot in

terferew

ith th

e viewin

g area, i.e., n

ear the to

p o

f the ch

amb

er in th

e evapo

ration

zon

e, or n

ear the ed

ge o

f the ch

amb

er over th

e sealant u

nd

er the g

lass.

Pla

cem

en

t an

d S

tora

ge

In g

eneral, o

rgan

isms w

ithin

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ are b

est main

tained

atro

om

temp

erature in

diffu

se ligh

t. Ro

om

ligh

ting

is adeq

uate; h

ow

ever,p

lacemen

t near a w

ind

ow

receiving

ind

irect sun

ligh

t is ideal.

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cham

bers w

itho

ut stan

ds m

ay be co

nven

iently sto

redan

d tran

spo

rted in

test tub

e racks or m

od

ified slid

e bo

xes (with

the aid

of a

small ch

isel or sh

arpen

ed screw

driver, rem

ove every o

ther p

artition

in th

eC

arolin

a™ B

lue B

ox, R

N-63-4200). T

o tran

spo

rt for u

se in th

e field, take

care to p

ack Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cham

bers carefu

lly in a cru

shp

roo

fco

ntain

er so th

ey do

no

t rattle.

Care

an

d F

eed

ing

Rep

lenish

evapo

rative water lo

ss as need

ed (ca. every 10 d

ays) with

distilled

water o

r any aq

uariu

m-safe w

ater. To

min

imize m

ineral b

uild

up

inth

e evapo

ration

zon

e, distilled

water sh

ou

ld b

e used

to rep

lace lost

volu

me. O

therw

ise any aq

uariu

m-safe w

ater (bo

ttled sp

ring

water, ag

ed tap

water) is ap

pro

priate. A

small b

ottle o

f refill water p

laced n

ear the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cultu

res is recom

men

ded

.

General M

ethodsA

s a precau

tion

, rinse th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

with

tap w

ater prio

r to in

itialu

se. Wh

en p

rop

erly treated, th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

will p

rovid

e years of

service. Placin

g th

e lid u

po

n th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

sho

uld

facilitateh

and

ling

in th

at it beco

mes a sp

ill-resistant ch

amb

er that can

be p

assedaro

un

d an

d sh

ared b

y mu

ltiple o

bservers.

Sto

ckin

g

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

may b

e stocked

with

an in

finite ran

ge o

f materials

for a m

ultitu

de o

f pu

rpo

ses. Th

e meth

od

s presen

ted h

ere are simp

lyg

uid

elines th

at may b

e mo

dified

to fit sp

ecific uses.

Use a p

ipet (p

lastic preferred

) to fill th

ech

amb

er and

to tran

sfer org

anism

s(C

arolin

a items R

N-73-6986 an

d R

N-73-

6988 wo

rk well). H

old

the p

ipet at a lo

wan

gle w

ith th

e tip restin

g u

po

n, an

dcrad

led b

y, the o

pen

ing

of th

e cham

ber.

Pip

et tips cu

t to larg

er diam

eter areu

seful fo

r transferrin

g larg

er anim

als(e.g

., scud

s, flatwo

rms). P

lastic pip

etsw

ho

se tips h

ave been

stretched

with

pliers in

to lo

ng

, thin

extensio

ns

(“stretch p

ipets”) are u

seful fo

rin

trod

ucin

g an

d retrievin

g selected

micro

org

anism

s. A p

lastic too

l and

fine

forcep

s aids th

e add

ition

of larg

er sub

strates and

plan

t life (e.g., sh

oo

ts of

mo

ss, pieces o

f sub

strate collected

from

aqu

atic enviro

nm

ents).

Wh

ile there is n

o w

ron

g w

ay to sto

ck a Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

, striking

ab

alance b

etween

solid

matter (sed

imen

t and

sub

strates) and

water is

advised

. Excessive so

lid m

atter can red

uce visib

ility into

the m

icroco

sm.

A th

in layer o

f sedim

ent (0–5 m

m) restin

g in

the b

otto

m o

f an u

prig

ht

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

pro

vides fo

od

and

hab

itat for m

any in

vertebrates.

A n

arrow

, flat too

l, several inch

es lon

g (e.g

., a six-inch

man

icure n

ail file,flat co

ffee stirrer, flat too

thp

ick, or p

iece of th

in p

lastic) can b

e used

top

ositio

n su

bstrates in

the lo

wer h

alf of th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

.

Wh

ile it is gen

erally advisab

le to co

mp

letely fill the M

icroA

qu

arium

™

with

fluid

, in cases w

here im

pro

ved o

xygen

delivery is n

eeded

or a

smaller vo

lum

e is desired

(as in estab

lishin

g n

ew cu

ltures w

ith a sin

gle

cell isolated

from

a sou

rce cultu

re), the ch

amb

er sho

uld

be filled

to th

ed

esired level.

11

10

Cle

an

ing

Alg

al films can

beco

me a n

uisan

ce in cu

ltures d

esign

ed to

disp

laym

acrosco

pic life (e.g

., crustacean

s, plan

arians, an

nelid

s, etc.). To

clean th

eaq

uariu

m an

d resto

re a clear view, p

ou

r the co

nten

ts of th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ in

to a sm

all dish

for later retrieval. If n

ecessary, rinse th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ to

remo

ve all of th

e desired

org

anism

s. On

ce emp

tied o

fflu

id co

nten

ts, wip

e away th

e ob

scurin

g film

s with

a pip

e cleaner o

r piece

of tissu

e pu

shed

by a flat to

ol (a six-in

ch m

anicu

re nail file is excellen

t for

this p

urp

ose). R

inse w

ith w

ater and

return

the o

rgan

isms to

the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

with

a pip

et.

A sm

all mag

net (a few

mm

in d

iameter) can

also b

e used

to m

anip

ulate a

small p

iece of m

agn

etic metal d

rop

ped

into

the aq

uariu

m ch

amb

er. Th

em

agn

et is pu

lled acro

ss the o

uter g

lass face wh

ile the attracted

piece o

fm

etal is mo

ved acro

ss the in

ner w

alls, scrub

bin

g o

bscu

ring

films aw

ayfro

m th

e glass. T

ake care no

t to cru

sh larg

er org

anism

s with

the m

etalin

side th

e cham

ber.

Prio

r to startin

g a n

ew cu

lture in

a previo

usly u

sed M

icroA

qu

arium

™, it is

recom

men

ded

to p

artially sterilize the aq

uariu

m b

y soakin

g it fo

r severalh

ou

rs in a 1:9 ratio

of b

leach an

d w

ater. After so

aking

, rinse w

ell mu

ltiple

times w

ith w

arm tap

water. P

ipe clean

ers and

stiff, flat, narro

w to

ols several

inch

es lon

g (e.g

., nail files) are u

seful fo

r remo

ving

particu

late matter.

View

ing Tips and O

bservational TechniquesV

ariou

s micro

hab

itats exist with

in th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Th

e up

per w

aterco

lum

n n

ear the su

rface may h

arbo

r life differen

t from

that fo

un

d n

ear the

bo

ttom

or alo

ng

the sid

es. Th

e zon

e alon

g th

e edg

es of th

e inn

er silicon

esealan

t is often

a regio

n o

f interestin

g activity an

d g

oo

d visib

ility,p

articularly in

the b

otto

m o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™. T

he u

se of a h

and

lens

or d

issecting

micro

scop

e can h

elp yo

u q

uickly access w

here p

articular

org

anism

s are located

. Oth

er org

anism

s are fou

nd

on

ly with

a com

po

un

dm

icrosco

pe.

To

reveal life hid

den

in th

e ben

tho

s deb

ris, gen

tly shake o

r agitate th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ th

ereby lo

osen

ing

and

spread

ing

the d

ebris acro

ss the

inn

er cham

ber. A

s the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ is laid

flat after agitatio

n, m

any

org

anism

s respo

nd

by scu

rrying

across th

e cham

ber w

hen

so d

isturb

ed.

Oth

ers org

anism

s will b

e mad

e visible as th

ey are no

lon

ger h

idd

en w

ithin

a thick layer o

f sedim

ent.

Th

e rate at wh

ich w

ater is lost d

ue to

evapo

ration

varies greatly d

epen

din

go

n th

e hu

mid

ity wh

ere stored

and

the am

ou

nt o

f sub

strate expo

sed(exp

osed

sub

strate acts as an evap

orative w

ick). Th

e lid o

f the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

, app

lied lo

osely to

allow

gas exch

ang

e, can b

e used

toretard

evapo

ration

. Altern

atively, mu

ltiple M

icroA

qu

arium

™ ch

amb

ers canb

e partially sealed

in a clear p

lastic bag

and

left for o

ne to

several mo

nth

sw

itho

ut th

eir dryin

g o

ut.

Dep

end

ing

on

on

e’s ob

jective, foo

d co

mp

arable in

size to a g

rain o

f Betta

fish fo

od

pellets (u

p to

2 mm

in d

iameter) m

ay be ad

ded

on

ce or tw

ice am

on

th. Fo

r transfer, sm

all particles o

f foo

d w

ill adh

ere to o

ne’s fin

gertip

wh

en g

ently p

ressed. E

xcess foo

d resu

lts in b

loo

ms o

f fou

l smellin

gan

aerob

ic micro

bes an

d w

ill kill aerob

ic life. In g

eneral, th

e add

ition

of

app

rop

riate foo

d can

pro

du

ce blo

om

s of p

roto

zoan

s and

metazo

ans (e.g

.,ro

tifers, gastro

trichs, an

d m

icrocru

staceans). Fo

od

s (nu

trients) th

at have

been

add

ed to

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cham

bers w

ith su

ccess inclu

de:

po

pp

y seeds

sesame seed

s

grits (cru

shed

corn

)

fragm

ents o

f rice, wh

eat, and

oth

er seeds

dro

p o

f fresh skim

milk (D

eliver less than

on

e dro

p b

y dip

pin

g a to

oth

pick

mo

istened

with

skim m

ilk into

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™.)

pin

e po

llen

spid

er silk (collected

from

spid

er web

s usin

g a to

oth

pick)

rabb

it foo

d p

ellets

fragm

ents o

f Pro

tozo

an P

ellets (RN

-13-2360)

Betta fish

foo

d g

rains

fragm

ents o

f oth

er fish fo

od

(e.g., alg

ae wafers, sh

rimp

pellets)

Tim

oth

y hay (R

N-13-2385)

active dry yeast g

ranu

les

bits o

f hard

-bo

iled eg

g yo

lk

Liqu

id P

roto

zoan

Nu

trient C

on

centrate (R

N-13-2350)

fresh carro

t

For ease o

f transfer, a sm

all amo

un

t of cru

shed

Pro

tozo

an P

ellet, rabb

itfo

od

pellet, o

r fish fo

od

pellet m

ay be d

issolved

in w

ater and

then

transferred

with

a pip

et.

13

12

shap

e, orn

amen

tation

, and

mo

vemen

ts of alg

ae and

pro

tozo

a beco

me

clearly visible w

ith skillfu

l man

ipu

lation

of a h

and

lens. P

ositive attrib

utes

of h

and

lens u

se inclu

de: o

rgan

isms can

be q

uickly lo

cated in

the w

ide

field o

f view; len

ses can b

e con

venien

tly carried in

po

ckets or w

orn

with

alan

yard aro

un

d th

e neck an

d can

be u

sed virtu

ally anyw

here; u

se in th

efield

du

ring

field trip

s and

natu

re hikes g

reatly enh

ances o

ne’s exp

erience

with

the n

atural w

orld

; ease of m

anip

ulatin

g lig

htin

g effects, e.g

.,altern

ating

betw

een d

ark field an

d b

righ

t field w

ith ju

st a turn

of th

e head

to affect an

gle o

f ligh

ting

; ob

serving

natu

ral colo

rs of o

rgan

isms th

at aretyp

ically lost in

brig

ht-field

micro

scop

y; 3-D sh

apes are read

ily eviden

t;ease an

d co

nven

ience o

f use m

akes mo

re-frequ

ent o

bservatio

ns likely.

Th

e stand

pro

vided

with

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ serves as a b

race up

on

wh

ich th

e ho

usin

g o

f a han

d len

s can b

e rested. T

he fo

cal leng

th req

uired

to fo

rm a sh

arp im

age is o

btain

ed b

y sligh

tly tilting

the len

s tow

ards o

raw

ay from

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™. S

lidin

g th

e han

d len

s alon

g th

e base o

fth

e stand

main

tains a sh

arp fo

cus as th

e con

tents o

f the ch

amb

er arevisu

ally scann

ed.

Mic

rosco

pes

Th

e 2 ×3-in

ch size o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ fits th

e mech

anical stag

e of

mo

st com

po

un

d m

icrosco

pes. T

he th

ickness o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™allo

ws th

e use o

f 4×, 10×, and

20×o

bjective len

s of m

ost co

mp

ou

nd

micro

scop

es. Dissectin

g m

icrosco

pes are excellen

t for g

eneral

ob

servation

s and

for u

se in lo

cating

specim

ens to

be view

ed w

ith th

eco

mp

ou

nd

micro

scop

e.

Mu

ltimed

ia

Do

cum

ent cam

eras, visual p

resentatio

n cam

eras, dig

ital mag

nifiers, an

do

verhead

pro

jectors all can

be u

sed in

con

jun

ction

with

the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Th

e live action

of flatw

orm

s, mo

squ

ito larvae, an

d o

ther

org

anism

s can b

e presen

ted to

an en

tire class or o

ther au

dien

ce with

the

aid o

f a do

cum

ent cam

era and

pro

jector. D

igital m

agn

ifiers, such

as tho

seu

sed b

y sigh

t-imp

aired in

divid

uals, are excellen

tly suited

for u

se with

the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

.

Other M

anipulations

Su

sp

en

ded

Dro

p M

ou

nt

Sim

ilar to th

e han

gin

g d

rop

mo

un

t, the su

spen

ded

dro

p m

ou

nt m

ay be

used

to iso

late org

anism

s with

in a cap

illary cage so

that th

ey may b

e

Lig

ht

Ligh

t is the key to

go

od

viewin

g co

nd

ition

s. On

e can o

btain

qu

ality ligh

ting

simp

ly by learn

ing

to m

anip

ulate co

mm

on

ligh

t sou

rces for d

esired effects.

Daylig

ht as seen

from

ind

oo

rs thro

ug

h a w

ind

ow

, ceiling

ligh

ts shin

ing

from

directly o

verhead

, and

lamp

ligh

t from

beh

ind

or b

elow

may serve

well fo

r viewin

g th

e aqu

arium

con

tents w

ith a h

and

lens o

r naked

eye. For

naked

eye viewin

g, even

the lig

ht lo

cated b

elow

the stag

e of a co

mp

ou

nd

micro

scop

e can b

e usefu

l in illu

min

ating

a han

dh

eld M

icroA

qu

arium

™p

ositio

ned

directly o

ver the lig

ht so

urce an

d u

nd

er the stag

e. An

oth

er ligh

tso

urce co

mm

on

ly available in

scho

ols is an

overh

ead p

rojecto

r—th

e ligh

tis b

righ

t and

usefu

l for view

ing

a han

dh

eld M

icroA

qu

arium

™.

In a d

ark roo

m o

r with

a dark b

ackdro

p, lig

ht p

rojected

from

directly ab

ove,

belo

w, o

r from

the sid

es pro

vides fo

r dark-field

illum

inatio

n. A

simp

letech

niq

ue to

achieve th

is effect is to lay a flash

ligh

t to th

e side o

f aM

icroA

qu

arium

™ in

fron

t of a d

ark backg

rou

nd

. Min

or ch

ang

es in th

ep

ositio

n o

f the flash

ligh

t can b

ring

abo

ut d

esired lig

htin

g. A

n elevated

table

surface m

akes for co

mfo

rtable view

ing

; you

r eyes sho

uld

be level w

ith th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™.

Naked

Eye

Wh

en p

rop

erly presen

ted w

ith favo

rable lig

htin

g, th

e naked

eye alon

eallo

ws o

ne to

see clearly, and

with

som

e detail, featu

res of

macro

inverteb

rates. Blo

om

s of o

ne-celled

, tiny ciliates can

be seen

asg

listenin

g sp

ecks mo

ving

thro

ug

h th

e water. In

divid

ual p

aramecia are

easily seen w

itho

ut m

agn

ification

.

Mag

nifie

rs

A larg

e mag

nifyin

g len

s po

sition

edin

fron

t of th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

can serve as a view

ing

aid. A

great

variety of h

and

held

mag

nifiers

may b

e used

in co

nju

nctio

n w

ithth

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Perh

aps th

eb

est mag

nifier is a q

uality h

and

lens. A

han

d len

s allow

s for

detailed

ob

servation

that can

rivalth

at pro

vided

by a m

icrosco

pe.

Bristles, h

airs, colo

r pattern

s, eyes,leg

s, and

mo

uth

parts o

fin

vertebrates alo

ng

with

cell

15

14

Mic

roA

qu

ariu

m™

as a

Tra

pp

ing

Devic

e

To

dem

on

strate the d

ispersal o

f micro

org

anism

s do

wn

ward

over a tree

trun

k, emp

ty Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cham

bers can

be p

ositio

ned

up

righ

t with

the o

pen

ing

flush

again

st the b

ark of a tree w

here rain

water is exp

ected to

flow

and

fill the M

icroA

qu

arium

™. C

rotch

es near th

e low

er trun

k areco

nven

ient p

laces to statio

n m

icroaq

uaria. A

fter a rain, exam

ine th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ fo

r the p

resence o

f life. Water b

ears, nem

atod

es, and

rotifers h

ave been

captu

red u

sing

this m

etho

d.

As a m

eans o

f samp

ling

micro

life in aq

uatic h

abitats, let th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™ rem

ain su

bm

erged

for a m

on

th o

r mo

re in th

e hab

itatb

eing

investig

ated. W

hen

retrieved, th

e ou

ter faces sho

uld

be w

iped

cleanan

d th

e con

tents exam

ined

. It sho

uld

be in

teresting

to n

ote w

hich

form

s of

life die o

ff soo

n after rem

oval fro

m th

e field en

viron

men

t and

wh

icho

rgan

isms p

rosp

er with

in th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

main

tained

ind

oo

rs.

Culturing and O

bserving Protozoa

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is an excellen

t cham

ber fo

r stud

ying

and

cultu

ring

man

y types o

f pro

tozo

a. With

experien

ce, on

e can w

ith relative ease o

btain

specific p

roto

zoa fro

m n

atural h

abitats. Fo

r con

venien

ce and

to save tim

e,cu

ltures o

f pro

tozo

a may b

e ord

ered to

arrive several days (o

r weeks) in

advan

ce of p

lann

ed lab

orato

ry use. T

he q

uickest w

ay to p

rod

uce w

ell-sto

cked m

icroaq

uaria co

ntain

ing

the d

esired p

roto

zoa is to

fill eachM

icroA

qu

arium

™ w

ith p

urch

ased cu

ltures. A

typical C

arolin

a cultu

re will

fill several micro

aqu

aria with

abu

nd

ant p

roto

zoa. A

lternatively, a sin

gle

Caro

lina cu

lture m

ay be u

sed to

ino

culate m

any m

icroaq

uaria w

ith few

erp

roto

zoa. T

he in

ocu

lated m

icroaq

uaria sh

ou

ld co

ntain

mo

re abu

nd

ant

pro

tozo

a after on

e or tw

o w

eeks pro

vided

nu

trients w

ere also ad

ded

. Th

eu

se of a d

issecting

micro

scop

e can h

elp yo

u lo

cate the p

roto

zoa in

the

sou

rce cultu

re. If a dissectin

g m

icrosco

pe is n

ot availab

le, retrieve fluid

from

the b

otto

m o

f the cu

lture d

ish an

d fro

m aro

un

d an

y inclu

ded

foo

dsu

bstrate. If th

e pu

rchased

cultu

re con

tains w

heat o

r rice grain

s, these

grain

s sho

uld

be cu

t with

a razor b

lade in

to several th

in frag

men

ts and

on

efrag

men

t add

ed to

each M

icroA

qu

arium

™ su

bcu

lture. S

tored

at roo

mtem

peratu

re in d

iffuse lig

htin

g, M

icroA

qu

arium

™ cu

ltures m

ay last for

weeks, even

mo

nth

s. Ad

din

g n

utrien

ts to o

lder cu

ltures typ

ically results in

po

pu

lation

gro

wth

. Old

er cultu

res may also

be u

sed to

establish

new

cultu

res. Old

cultu

res will even

tually d

ie ou

t if no

t man

aged

carefully.

Nu

trients sh

ou

ld b

e add

ed to

pro

tozo

an cu

ltures ab

ou

t on

ce or tw

ice am

on

th, d

epen

din

g o

n th

e cultu

re’s vigo

r (overfeed

ing

a vigo

rou

s cultu

rem

ay hasten

the b

uild

up

of h

armfu

l waste p

rod

ucts).

easily relocated

and

stud

ied o

ver ap

eriod

of several d

ays. To

prep

are asu

spen

ded

dro

p m

ou

nt, g

ently

squ

eeze a small am

ou

nt o

f water

con

tainin

g selected

org

anism

s from

ap

ipet in

to an

emp

ty Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

.T

he w

ater enterin

g th

e cham

ber

sho

uld

adh

ere to b

oth

sides o

f the

inn

er glass. B

efore th

e susp

end

ed w

ater reaches th

e bo

ttom

, lay the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

flat. Th

e susp

end

ed d

rop

can b

e man

ipu

latedexp

erimen

tally thro

ug

h th

e add

ition

of n

utrien

ts or ad

ditio

nal o

rgan

isms b

yu

sing

a slend

er pro

be o

r stretch p

ipet.

Irrigatio

n a

nd

Aera

tion

Wh

ile gen

erally no

t requ

ired, it is p

ossib

le to eith

er irrigate o

r aerate the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Tw

o p

ieces of p

lastic tub

ing

(Tyg

on

®m

icrob

ore tu

bin

g,

size 0.020 ×0.060, fo

rmu

lation

5-54-HL) are n

eeded

for irrig

ation

. On

e piece

of tu

bin

g sip

ho

ns fresh

, aerated w

ater into

a Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

from

anelevated

con

tainer (d

elivery rate abo

ut o

ne d

rop

per seco

nd

) wh

ile the

secon

d p

iece of tu

bin

g sip

ho

ns aw

ay from

near th

e water’s su

rface the

up

wellin

g w

ater. To

adju

st the rate o

f inflo

w an

d o

utflo

w, sim

ply ad

just th

eh

eigh

t of th

e peak cu

rve in th

e tub

ing

. To

aerate, on

e piece o

f the sm

alltu

bin

g co

nn

ects an air so

urce to

the lo

wer w

ater colu

mn

. Tin

y air bu

bb

lesw

ill rise in su

ccession

just as in

a larger aq

uariu

m. T

hese tech

niq

ues m

ayb

e usefu

l for th

e cultu

re of less to

lerant o

rgan

isms th

at requ

ire hig

her

oxyg

en levels (e.g

., bryo

zoan

s). Th

un

(1966) orig

inally p

rop

osed

the

meth

od

of u

sing

capillary tu

bin

g to

deliver aerated

salt water in

his

micro

aqu

arium

used

in th

e cultu

re of m

arine n

emato

des.

Ag

ar

As a sem

i-transp

arent m

ediu

m, a layer o

f 1.5% n

on

-nu

trient ag

ar in th

elo

wer p

ortio

n o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ can

pro

vide in

teresting

views o

fth

ose o

rgan

isms th

at pen

etrate the sem

isolid

med

ium

from

the w

aterco

lum

n ab

ove. V

ariou

s types o

f nu

trient ag

ar can also

be u

sed. T

o ad

dag

ar, use a p

lastic stretch p

ipet o

r glass P

asteur p

ipet to

deliver h

ot, m

olten

agar to

the lo

wer p

ortio

n o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™. A

dd

agar to

a level of 1

cm ab

ove th

e low

er cham

ber. A

fter the ag

ar has co

oled

, add

po

nd

water o

ro

ther so

urce m

aterial to th

e cham

ber. E

xamin

e perio

dically o

ver the n

extfew

weeks fo

r develo

pin

g b

iota.

17

16

Peranema

(RN

-13-1838). Th

ou

gh

small, th

e flagellu

m is easily seen

at 100×.Peranem

ad

oes w

ell for m

on

ths w

ithin

a Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

.

Volvox

sp. (R

N-13-1860) an

d V

olvox globator(R

N -13-1864). T

he

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is an excellen

t temp

orary view

ing

cham

ber fo

r these

dyn

amic co

lon

ies.

Culturing, O

bserving, and Keeping Sm

all Anim

alsM

aintain

ing

repro

du

ctive anim

als and

keepin

g selected

no

nrep

rod

uctive

ind

ividu

al anim

als for exten

ded

perio

ds (w

eeks to years) is fairly sim

ple

and

requ

ires little space.

Hyd

ra

Green

hyd

ra can b

e add

ed to

micro

aqu

aria and

main

tained

for m

on

ths

wh

en exp

osed

to 8–10 h

ou

rs of in

direct su

nlig

ht o

r fluo

rescent lig

ht d

aily.Feed

ing

green

hyd

ra micro

crustacean

s or frag

men

ts of th

e aqu

atico

ligo

chaete Lum

briculusm

ay ind

uce b

ud

din

g.

Hyd

ra (RN

-13-2800).

Green

Hyd

ra (RN

-13-2810).

Mixed

Hyd

ra (RN

-13-2814). Cu

lture co

ntain

s green

and

bro

wn

specim

ens.

Pla

naria

ns

Th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

is an excellen

t cham

ber in

wh

ich to

ho

use an

d feed

ind

ividu

al plan

arians. P

lanarian

s may rep

rod

uce b

y fragm

entin

g b

ut are

typically m

aintain

ed as in

divid

uals, so

metim

es living

for n

early a yearw

ithin

the co

nfin

es of a b

alanced

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

that co

ntain

sp

ho

tosyn

thetic o

rgan

isms (alg

ae, aqu

atic mo

ss). To

ob

serve plan

arians

feedin

g, ad

d (w

ith th

e aid o

f a pip

et) a freshly cu

t fragm

ent o

f Lumbriculus

to a M

icroA

qu

arium

™ co

ntain

ing

on

e to th

ree plan

arians th

at ideally h

aveb

een starved

for a w

eek or tw

o. B

etta fish fo

od

grain

s and

inju

red live

org

anism

s (scud

s, mayfly larvae, etc.) h

ave also b

een u

sed w

ith su

ccess.A

fter plan

arians b

egin

to feed

, flip th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

to th

e app

rop

riatesid

e to o

bserve th

e ventral sid

e of th

e plan

arian fro

m w

hich

the p

haryn

xem

erges. D

issecting

micro

scop

es wo

rk well, b

ut care sh

ou

ld b

e taken to

min

imize exp

osu

re to b

righ

t ligh

t and

heat fro

m th

e ligh

t sou

rce. A h

and

lens an

d co

mp

ou

nd

micro

scop

e are also u

seful. A

water ch

ang

e may b

ereq

uired

in o

rder to

remo

ve excess foo

d, esp

ecially if the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

con

tains o

nly p

lanaria.

Mixed

Plan

aria (RN

-13-2958).

Dugesia dorotocephala

(RN

-13-2970).

Sarc

od

ines

Actinosphaerium

(RN

-13-1302). Ad

d m

icrocru

staceans an

d o

bserve th

esesu

n am

oeb

ae prey u

po

n th

em.

Am

oeba proteus(R

N-13-1306). R

eno

wn

ed fo

r bein

g d

ifficult to

find

, A

. proteusu

po

n th

e inn

er face of th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

are visible w

ith a

han

d len

s or m

icrosco

pe.

Arcella vulgaris

(RN

-13-1310).

Centropyxis aculeata

(RN

-13-1320).

Chaos

(RN

-13-1324).

Difflugia lobostom

a(R

N-13-1334).

Cilia

tes

Blepharism

a(R

N-13-1430). B

oth

the sm

aller cells and

the “g

iant”

cann

ibalistic cells th

at develo

p in

agin

g cu

ltures are easily seen

with

a 14×h

and

lens.

Bursaria

(RN

-13-1434). Th

is large ciliate is easily acco

mm

od

ated w

ithin

the

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Ag

ing

cultu

res may d

evelop

large, restin

g cysts th

atread

ily break d

orm

ancy w

hen

intro

du

ced in

to fresh

cultu

re.

Colpidium

(RN

-13-1452).

Didinium

(RN

-13-1460).

Dileptus

(RN

-13-1466).

Euplotes(R

N-13-1480). Euplotes

uses leg

-like cirri to w

alk across th

e inn

erface o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™.

Paramecium

sp. (R

N-13-1540).

Paramecium

bursaria(R

N-13-1548). C

on

tainin

g th

e green

symb

ion

tszo

och

lorella, th

is species p

erform

s well in

neg

lected cu

ltures.

Paramecium

caudatum(R

N-13-1554). T

he star-like rad

iating

canals o

f the

con

tractile vacuo

le are readily evid

ent w

hen

viewed

at 100×w

ith a

com

po

un

d m

icrosco

pe. A

lso, d

emo

nstratin

g th

e effect of vo

ltage o

n cell

beh

avior is easily d

on

e by in

serting

the w

ire leads o

f a battery clip

attached

to a 9-vo

lt battery [P

aramecia visib

le to th

e naked

eye instan

tly beg

inm

ovin

g to

ward

s to cath

od

e (–) wire].

Spirostom

um(R

N-13-1590).

Stentor coeruleus

(RN

-13-1598).

Fla

gella

tes

Euglena(R

N-13-1768). T

he p

ho

totro

pic resp

on

se of Euglena

can b

e easilyd

emo

nstrated

by sh

ieldin

g p

art of th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

from

ligh

t with

ap

iece of b

lack con

structio

n p

aper o

r alum

inu

m fo

il.

19

18

Am

ph

ipo

ds a

nd

Aq

uatic

Iso

po

ds

Th

ese relatively large aq

uatic cru

staceans m

ake extraord

inary classro

om

pets. Feed

ing

beh

aviors an

d in

teraction

s with

oth

er org

anism

s are easilyo

bserved

, and

small in

divid

uals w

ill mo

lt and

gro

w larg

er (1–4 anim

als per

cham

ber reco

mm

end

ed). N

ote th

at the size o

f these an

imals varies, an

dlarg

er specim

ens m

ay no

t fit with

in th

e cham

ber.

Am

ph

ipo

ds (R

N-14-2355).

Aq

uatic Iso

po

ds (R

N-14-2360).

Culturing and O

bserving Fungi and Plants

Fu

ng

i

Water m

old

s frequ

ently d

evelop

in ju

st a few d

ays on

po

pp

y seeds an

dB

etta fish fo

od

grain

s add

ed to

freshly co

llected p

on

d w

ater that co

ntain

s alittle sed

imen

t. Th

e in situo

bservatio

n o

f these ten

der o

rgan

isms is in

man

y ways su

perio

r to th

e traditio

nal w

et mo

un

t prep

aration

.

Achlya

(RN

-15-5901).

Allom

yces arbuscula(R

N-15-5910).

Saprolegnia

(RN

-15-6270).

Th

e slime m

old

Physarum polycephalum

is easily gro

wn

in a “d

ry”M

icroA

qu

arium

™ p

reviou

sly coated

on

the in

side w

ith n

on

-nu

trient ag

ar(ad

d m

olten

agar to

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™, let set fo

r 30 secon

ds, an

d th

enp

ou

r the ag

ar ou

t). Tran

sfer either a sclero

tium

or a p

iece of active

plasm

od

ium

to a p

repared

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Ad

d an

oat flake to

main

tainth

e plasm

od

ium

for a w

eek or lo

ng

er. Rin

sing

the p

lasmo

diu

m every o

ther

day is reco

mm

end

ed to

keep it h

ydrated

and

vigo

rou

s. Th

is techn

iqu

e iso

utstan

din

g fo

r micro

scop

ic stud

y of cyto

plasm

ic streamin

g; it also

dem

on

strates slime trails left b

ehin

d th

e advan

cing

plasm

od

ium

.

Physarum polycephalum

Sclero

tium

(RN

-15-6190).

Physarum polycephalum

Plasm

od

ium

(RN

-15-6193).

Pla

nts

Carro

t seeds h

ave been

sho

wn

to read

ily germ

inate u

nd

erwater. R

oo

t hairs

and

the ro

ot cap

are easily ob

served w

ith a h

and

lens. D

uckw

eeds su

ch as

Wolffia

and

Wolffiella, th

e smallest an

gio

sperm

s, gro

w very w

ell. Man

yaq

uatic an

d terrestrial b

ryop

hytes su

rvive for lo

ng

perio

ds u

nd

erwater

with

in th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Man

y pro

du

ce interestin

g stru

ctures

Ro

tifers

, Gastro

trich

s, T

ard

igra

des, C

op

ep

od

s, O

stra

co

ds, a

nd

Sm

all

Cla

do

cero

ns

Th

ese anim

als may b

e cultu

red as d

escribed

un

der “C

ultu

ring

and

Ob

serving

Pro

tozo

a.” Like pro

tozo

a, they w

ill frequ

ently m

ove acro

ss the

surface o

f the in

ner face o

f the M

icroA

qu

arium

™, w

here th

ey are easilyview

ed. T

hese o

rgan

isms m

ay be co

llected in

the field

or p

urch

ased fro

mC

arolin

a Bio

log

ical Su

pp

ly Co

mp

any.

Ro

tifers, Philodina(R

N-13-3172).

Gastro

trichs, Lepidoderm

ella(R

N-13-3100).

Tard

igrad

es (RN

-13-3960).

Co

pep

od

s, Cyclops

(RN

-14-2365).

Ostraco

ds (R

N-14-2370).

Daphnia pulex

(RN

-14-2314).

Mixed

Cru

staceans (R

N-14-2350).

An

nelid

s

Sm

all, aqu

atic ann

elids co

mm

on

ly repro

du

ce by th

e asexual m

etho

d o

ffrag

men

tation

and

frequ

ently m

ultip

ly with

in th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. A n

ewap

preciatio

n fo

r these an

imals w

ill emerg

e as you

ob

serve their b

ehavio

ran

d fo

rm w

ithin

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

hab

itats. Sm

all, marin

e po

lychaetes

may b

e ob

tained

from

sedim

ents o

f marin

e aqu

aria or fro

m n

atural co

astalh

abitats w

here th

ey are qu

ite com

mo

n w

ithin

man

y sub

merg

ed su

bstrates.

Sm

all, freshw

ater olig

och

aetes may b

e ob

tained

from

variou

s po

nd

water

hab

itats or p

urch

ased fro

m C

arolin

a Bio

log

ical Su

pp

ly Co

mp

any.

Aeolosom

a(R

N-14-1748).

Lumbriculus variegatus

(RN

-14-1720).

Mixed

An

nelid

s (RN

-14-1740).

Insects

Man

y larval form

s of in

sects collected

in p

on

d w

ater can b

e main

tained

for

extend

ed p

eriod

s with

in th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Mid

ge an

d m

osq

uito

larvaeare p

articularly w

ell suited

and

frequ

ently m

etamo

rph

ose in

to ad

ults.

Culex

Eg

g R

aft (RN

-14-4470).

Culex

Larvae (RN

-14-4476).

Mo

squ

ito D

iet (RN

-14-4485).

21

20

variety of m

icroh

abitats (su

nn

y vs. shad

ed areas; m

ud

dy vs. ro

ckyb

otto

ms; d

ead w

oo

d vs. g

reen veg

etation

; and

ad in

finitu

m). W

hen

collectin

g, rem

emb

er that yo

u are accessin

g vario

us m

icroh

abitats fo

r the

presen

ce of m

icrolife. W

ith p

ractice and

experien

ce, you

r ability to

locate

specific o

rgan

isms in

the field

will g

reatly increase.

Hab

itats

.Micro

inverteb

rates can b

e fou

nd

almo

st anyw

here. H

abitats o

ftenrich

in in

vertebrate life in

clud

e lon

g-stan

din

g p

oo

ls or p

ud

dles, p

on

dw

ater, po

nd

water sed

imen

t, and

surfaces o

f sub

merg

ed o

bjects in

creeks,p

on

ds, an

d rivers. If n

atural h

abitats are d

ifficult to

visit, collect fro

mresid

ential b

irdb

aths o

r fish tan

ks. Pet sto

re emp

loyees typ

ically are willin

gto

do

nate scu

m fro

m aq

uariu

m filters if yo

u p

rovid

e a collectin

g jar.

Terrestrial m

oss co

llected fro

m tree b

ark or ro

ck (con

crete) walls also

con

tains ab

un

dan

t aqu

atic inverteb

rates.

Pan

nin

g.T

his m

etho

d is sim

ilar to p

ann

ing

for g

old

, on

ly you

aresearch

ing

for livin

g treasu

re. An

y type o

f wh

ite, shallo

w d

ish o

r con

tainer

will w

ork (e.g

., plastic fo

od

con

tainers, sm

all dish

pan

s). Dip

the d

ish alo

ng

the m

argin

s of p

on

ds an

d w

et ditch

es and

then

stare—p

atience is

reward

ed—

at the w

ater and

the b

its of sed

imen

t retrieved. Fo

r best

viewin

g an

d ease o

f captu

re with

a pip

et, the w

ater in th

e dish

sho

uld

be

an in

ch o

r less deep

. As th

e sedim

ent settles, th

e activity of arth

rop

od

s(co

pep

od

s, dap

hn

ids, in

sect larvae, etc.), mo

llusks, an

d w

orm

s sho

uld

soo

n b

ecom

e app

arent if th

e hab

itat is rich. If o

ne d

ip d

oesn

't turn

up

anyth

ing

, dip

again

in an

oth

er place. A

lso, try sh

aking

ou

t sub

merg

edsu

bstrates an

d veg

etation

into

a pan

. Sim

ply p

lace a han

dfu

l of flo

ating

algae, su

bm

erged

leaves, etc. in th

e wh

ite dish

, agitate, an

d th

en rem

ove

the larg

e matter, leavin

g o

rgan

isms b

ehin

d th

at have fallen

from

the larg

ersu

bstrates. T

ry dip

pin

g to

acqu

ire sedim

ent fro

m th

e bo

ttom

of th

e water

bo

dy. S

edim

ents are o

ften teem

ing

with

ob

servable life. If m

ud

dy

sedim

ents o

bscu

re you

r view, d

o like a g

old

min

er pan

nin

g fo

r go

ld flakes

and

gen

tly add

mo

re water to

dilu

te the m

ud

. Decan

t the m

ud

dy w

aterw

hile leavin

g th

e anim

als beh

ind

. Exam

ine clo

sely for flatw

orm

s and

oth

ero

rgan

isms m

ovin

g acro

ss the b

otto

m o

f the p

an.

Lo

okin

g U

nd

er R

ocks a

nd

Su

bm

erg

ed

Leaves.P

ick up

partially o

r wh

olly

sub

merg

ed ro

cks and

leaves alon

g th

e edg

es of sp

ring

s, creeks, and

po

nd

s.E

xamin

e the u

nd

ersurfaces clo

sely for sm

all inverteb

rates. Man

yin

vertebrates clin

g tig

htly to

these u

nd

ersurfaces. T

o d

islod

ge arth

rop

od

san

d p

lanarian

s from

the su

rface of th

ese sub

strates, ho

ld th

e rock o

r leaf inth

e air for a sh

ort tim

e and

then

dip

it briefly in

to a p

an filled

with

water.

Plan

arians an

d o

ther o

rgan

isms w

ill release their h

old

and

fall to th

e bo

ttom

of th

e pan

wh

ere they are read

ily visible an

d easily cap

tured

with

a pip

et.

(rhizo

ids, p

roto

nem

ata, gem

mae, g

ametan

gia) w

hile u

nd

erwater. P

erhap

sth

e mo

st successfu

l true p

lant g

row

n in

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ is th

ecarn

ivoro

us aq

uatic b

ladd

erwo

rt, Utricularia. T

his h

ardy p

lant w

ill survive

and

gro

w fo

r man

y mo

nth

s, pro

du

cing

its characteristic b

ladd

ers. With

inth

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

, it is relatively simp

le to trig

ger th

e blad

ders (w

ith a

slend

er pro

be) w

hile o

bservin

g th

e trapp

ing

mech

anism

with

a dissectin

gm

icrosco

pe.

Aq

uatic B

ladd

erwo

rt, Utricularia

(RN

-15-7200).

Establishing a Pond Water M

icrocosm“M

icrosco

pic” life in

po

nd

water h

as entertain

ed m

any sin

ce the 1600s,

wh

en atten

tion

was first tu

rned

to th

e micro

wo

rld. B

iolo

gy stu

den

ts and

po

nd

water en

thu

siasts no

lon

ger n

eed to

make rep

eated tem

po

rary wet

mo

un

ts to g

aze into

these m

icrosco

pic w

orld

s. A M

icroA

qu

arium

™ sto

ckedw

ith p

on

d w

ater is con

stantly read

y and

waitin

g to

be view

ed. Larg

een

ou

gh

to su

pp

ort m

icroh

abitats rep

resentative o

f tho

se fou

nd

in n

ature,

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ p

rovid

es a un

iqu

e cross-sectio

nal view

into

these

micro

ecosystem

s. A su

ccession

of ch

ang

es typically d

evelop

s with

in a

new

ly stocked

po

nd

water M

icroA

qu

arium

™ as vario

us ciliates an

d o

ther

org

anism

s blo

om

and

wan

e. In tim

e, the aq

uariu

m b

ecom

es a balan

cedeco

system w

ith its o

wn

characteristic m

ix of o

rgan

isms. S

om

e aqu

ariam

ay beco

me d

om

inated

by o

stracod

s or h

arpactico

id co

pep

od

s. Oth

ersm

ay sup

po

rt lon

g-lastin

g p

op

ulatio

ns o

f micro

turb

ellarians, p

roto

zoa, o

ro

ther life.

Co

llectin

g M

eth

od

s fo

r Po

nd

Wate

r Org

an

ism

s

For eth

ical and

legal co

nsid

eration

s in m

aking

field co

llection

s, see Darm

o(1995).

To

ols

.No

too

ls are need

ed to

stock a M

icroA

qu

arium

™ w

ith p

on

d w

ateran

d sed

imen

t. Sim

ply sco

op

up

water an

d sed

imen

t in th

e palm

of yo

ur

han

d an

d p

ou

r over th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

op

enin

g. B

y chan

ce, you

aresu

re to g

et a nu

mb

er of in

vertebrates. A

mo

re discrim

inatin

g ap

pro

ach can

also b

e interestin

g. A

pip

et is requ

ired to

cho

ose o

rgan

isms an

d tran

sferth

em to

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™. C

ollectin

g jars an

d a w

hite co

llecting

bo

wl

or p

an h

elp co

nsid

erably in

locatin

g an

d tran

spo

rting

material fro

m th

efield

. A tu

rkey baster is also

usefu

l in m

aking

field co

llection

s.

Fie

ld O

rien

tatio

n.O

rgan

isms are n

ot u

nifo

rmly d

istribu

ted alo

ng

the

marg

in o

f po

nd

s, pu

dd

les, or o

ther aq

uatic h

abitats, so

develo

p yo

ur field

eye for variatio

ns in

micro

hab

itat. Wh

en p

ossib

le, take samp

les from

a

23

22

harm

and

may yield

blo

om

s of p

roto

zoa w

ithin

a day o

r so. C

op

epo

ds an

do

ther o

rgan

isms can

live and

repro

du

ce for w

eeks with

ou

t add

ition

al foo

d.

Ad

din

g fo

od

(see “Care an

d Feed

ing

” un

der G

eneral M

etho

ds) w

illin

crease the p

op

ulatio

n g

row

th o

f particu

lar species. M

any p

roto

zoa,

ann

elids, an

d cru

staceans resp

on

d w

ell wh

en n

utrien

ts are add

ed. If

crustacean

s are presen

t, ciliate diversity w

ill remain

low

, as crustacean

sten

d to

do

min

ate the cu

lture.

Discovering A

quatic Lifein Terrestrial Environm

entsM

uch

of th

e species rich

ness o

f any en

viron

men

t resides in

ind

ividu

alo

rgan

isms to

o sm

all to b

e seen w

itho

ut tech

nical in

terventio

n. W

ith a

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

and

min

or m

anip

ulatio

n, at least so

me o

f the u

nseen

diversity o

f life beco

mes visib

le. Th

e disco

very of aq

uatic m

icroco

m-

mu

nities in

terrestrial enviro

nm

ents is o

ne o

f the m

ore n

ovel u

ses of th

eM

icroA

qu

arium

™. T

errestrial enviro

nm

ents p

ossess tem

po

rary waters th

atsu

pp

ort ab

un

dan

t aqu

atic life on

a micro

-scale. Du

ring

and

after a rainfall,

free water is retain

ed b

y capillary fo

rces with

in tin

y crevices fou

nd

with

inm

oss, tree b

ark, and

soil. T

he term

“limn

o-terrestrial” m

ay be u

sed to

describ

e the u

niq

ue n

ature o

f temp

orary aq

uatic h

abitats fo

un

d w

ithin

the

myriad

capillary in

terstices fou

nd

in o

therw

ise terrestrial hab

itats.

Aq

uatic life ab

ou

nd

s in terrestrial lan

dscap

es. Th

e mo

ssy bark o

f an o

aktree co

mes alive w

ith aq

uatic o

rgan

isms after a rain

. Am

oeb

ae, on

e-celledciliates, n

emato

des, ro

tifers, and

water b

ears swim

, crawl, an

d g

lide w

ithin

the th

in film

s of w

ater retained

with

in th

e mo

ssy vegetatio

n. Filam

ents o

falg

ae and

tiny b

alls of co

lon

ial algae also

reside w

ithin

the w

atery gap

sw

ithin

mo

sses. Th

e aqu

atic ecosystem

is defin

ed b

y the film

s of w

ater held

betw

een m

oss leaves, rh

izoid

s, and

adjacen

t mo

ss sho

ots, as w

ell as the

crevices of tree b

ark and

the lab

yrinth

of in

terstices betw

een so

il particles

and

deco

mp

osin

g fo

rest litter. With

in th

ese capillary sp

aces rainw

ater may

be retain

ed fo

r days, even

weeks, d

urin

g w

et weath

er in m

any p

arts of th

eU

.S. E

ven th

e face of a co

ncrete w

all can su

pp

ort aq

uatic life. C

on

creted

arkened

by “m

old

y gro

wth

” often

is ho

me to

variou

s types o

f algae an

daq

uatic an

imals active o

nly w

hen

wet. O

ther an

imal life su

ch as sp

ring

tails,p

seud

osco

rpio

ns, m

ites, and

beetles live in

mo

ssy crevices, bu

t these

mo

ve thro

ug

h air sp

aces with

in th

e mo

ssy mat o

r oth

er hu

mid

crevices.Lim

no

-terrestrial org

anism

s mu

st be su

bm

ersed to

be active. A

s the

crevices eventu

ally dry o

ut, th

ese anim

als and

pro

tists enter a state o

fd

orm

ancy eith

er in an

encysted

form

or a co

mp

letely desiccated

state.

Baitin

g T

rap

s.S

et jar traps b

aited w

ith fo

od

. A sm

all glass jar w

ho

se lid h

asb

een p

un

ctured

several times m

akes an excellen

t trap (a P

hillip

s-head

screwd

river serves well as a h

ole p

un

ch). A

dd

a thu

mb

nail-sized

(or sm

aller)p

iece of raw

liver or o

ther fo

od

to th

e jar. A strin

g can

be tied

betw

een th

eh

oles in

the lid

befo

re sub

merg

ing

it alon

g th

e edg

e of a p

on

d, d

itch, o

rcreek. C

heck after h

alf a day o

r the n

ext day. Im

po

rtan

t:Befo

re leaving

the

collectin

g site w

ith cap

tured

org

anism

s, drain

the n

asty water fro

m th

e bait

jar and

disp

ose o

f the b

ait; add

clear water fro

m th

e collectio

n site.

Sta

gn

an

t Po

nd

Wate

r Jar. Fill a jar h

alf full w

ith p

on

d veg

etation

, algae,

sub

merg

ed leaves, a b

it of m

ud

, etc., and

top

off w

ith p

on

d w

ater. Sto

reth

e jar with

no

lid (o

r with

a loo

se lid) o

ut o

f direct su

nlig

ht an

d aw

ay from

stron

g h

eat. Ho

urs (o

r days) later, exam

ine th

e up

per co

lum

n o

f water fo

raero

bic o

rgan

isms fo

rced to

the su

rface wh

ere oxyg

en is m

ore availab

le(m

aterial in th

e low

er water co

lum

n b

ecom

es anaero

bic). O

rgan

isms are

best seen

by lo

okin

g th

rou

gh

the sid

e of th

e jar such

that yo

ur eye is at o

rb

elow

the w

ater level. An

y jar of p

on

d w

ater kept fo

r a day o

r two

will

reveal org

anism

s no

t no

ticed o

n th

e first day. O

rgan

isms th

at survive in

astag

nan

t jar of w

ater pro

bab

ly will su

rvive for lo

ng

perio

ds o

f time in

aM

icroA

qu

arium

™.

Vo

rtexin

g C

on

cen

trate

.To

con

centrate sm

all, plan

kton

ic org

anism

s in th

ecen

ter of a b

ow

l or p

ot, sim

ply stir co

llected w

ater in a circu

lar fashio

n. T

he

vortex created

by stirrin

g p

ulls sm

all org

anism

s and

particu

late matter to

the cen

ter of th

e bo

wl fo

r efficient retrieval w

ith a p

ipet. T

his tech

niq

ue is

qu

ite usefu

l to d

emo

nstrate th

e aerial disp

ersal of ro

tifers, water b

ears, and

nem

atod

es in fo

rested reg

ion

s of th

e cou

ntry w

here sn

ow

fall accum

ulates.

A p

ot o

f sno

w co

llected several d

ays after a sno

wfall is allo

wed

to m

elt and

the p

articulate co

nten

ts are collected

as describ

ed ab

ove.

Ad

din

g S

ub

merg

ed

Su

rfaces.A

dd

ing

small p

ieces torn

or cu

t from

sub

merg

ed su

bstrates (d

ecom

po

sing

leaves and

stems, su

bm

erged

living

green

vegetatio

n, o

r min

eral and

org

anic d

ebris scrap

ed fro

m ro

cksu

rfaces) will b

ring

to th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

mu

ch life, n

amely

represen

tatives of p

eriph

yton

, the co

mm

un

ity of o

rgan

isms th

at occu

rs on

sub

merg

ed su

bstrates. Fo

r a lon

g-lastin

g, in

teresting

micro

cosm

, add

ing

pieces taken

from

sub

merg

ed su

rfaces is stron

gly reco

mm

end

ed.

Feeding Your Pond Water M

icrocosmIf th

e sou

rce samp

le placed

into

the ch

amb

er con

tains su

bstrates an

dd

ebris, n

o fo

od

is requ

ired d

urin

g th

e first week fo

llow

ing

initial sto

cking

;h

ow

ever, add

ing

a small am

ou

nt o

f foo

d so

on

after stockin

g sh

ou

ld d

o n

o

25

24

Kell, G

., et al. 2003. Pond Life: A G

uide to Com

mon Plants and A

nimals of

North A

merican Ponds and Lakes

(Go

lden

Gu

ide). S

t. Martin

's Press.

Leslie, C.W

. and

C.E

. Ro

th. 2003. K

eeping a Nature Journal. 2n

d ed

. Sto

reyP

ub

lishin

g.

Lou

v, R. 2005. Last C

hild in the Woods: S

aving Our C

hildren from N

ature-D

eficit Disorder. A

lgo

nq

uin

Bo

oks o

f Ch

apel H

ill.

Nard

i, J.G. 2003. The W

orld Beneath O

ur Feet: A G

uide to Life in the Soil.

Oxfo

rd U

niversity P

ress.

Patterso

n, D

.J. 1992. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A

Color G

uide.W

olfe P

ub

lishin

g.

Rain

is, K.G

. 1991. Exploring with a M

agnifying Glass. Fran

klin W

atts, New

Yo

rk.

Rain

is, K.G

. and

B.J. R

ussell. 1996. G

uide to Microlife. O

rchard

Bo

oks.

Sag

an, D

. and

L. Marg

ulis. 1993. G

arden of Microbial D

elights: A Practical

Guide to the S

ubvisible World

. Ken

dall/H

un

t.

Silverstein

, A. an

d V

. Silverstein

. 1998. A W

orld in a Drop of W

ater:Exploring w

ith a Microscope. D

over P

ub

lication

s.

Sm

ith, D

.G. 2001. Pennak's Freshw

ater Invertebrates of the United S

tates:Porifera to C

rustacea. 4th ed

. Joh

n W

iley & S

on

s.

Sp

ray, F. 1995. Mosquitoes in the C

lassroom. K

end

all/Hu

nt P

ub

lishin

gC

om

pan

y, Du

bu

qu

e, Iow

a.

Th

un

, W. vo

n. 1966. Eine M

ethode zur Kultivierung der M

ikrofauna. Vero

ff.In

st. Meeresfo

rsch. B

remerh

aven (S

on

derb

d) 2: 277–280.

Vo

shell, J.R

. 2002. A G

uide to Com

mon Freshw

ater Invertebrates of North

Am

erica. McD

on

ald &

Wo

od

ward

Pu

blish

ing

Co

.

Wilso

n, E

.O. 1993. The D

iversity of Life.W. W

. No

rton

& C

o.

Web

Reso

urc

es

At the tim

e of this printing, the following W

eb sites are active. You m

ayw

ish to perform an independent search for sim

ilar sites.

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Imag

e gallery o

f org

anism

s insid

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cham

bers.

http

://ww

w2.u

na.ed

u/m

icroaq

uariu

m/in

dex.h

tm

Micro

*scop

e. Th

e Astro

bio

log

y Institu

te Marin

e Bio

log

ical Labo

ratory,

Wo

od

s Ho

le. “A co

mm

un

al web

site that p

rom

otes in

form

ation

on

the

bio

diversity o

f micro

bes.”

http

://starcentral.m

bl.ed

u/m

v5d/

To

dem

on

strate micro

scop

ic life in m

osses, tree b

ark, or so

il, place a few

pieces o

f mo

ss, fragm

ents o

f bark, o

r particles o

f soil in

to a

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

and

add

distilled

water, b

ottled

sprin

gw

ater, aged

tapw

ater, or sterilized

po

nd

water. It is reco

mm

end

ed th

at small q

uan

tities of

mo

ss and

/or b

ark be ad

ded

such

that th

ere is at least 50% u

no

ccup

iedsp

ace with

in th

e Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

. Th

ere will b

e fewer o

bstru

ction

s inview

ing

the co

nten

ts and

less material th

at may d

ecay, limitin

g availab

leo

xygen

. So

il may b

e placed

in a d

ish co

ntain

ing

water an

d th

en tran

sferredto

the M

icroA

qu

arium

™ w

ith a p

ipet. T

he am

ou

nt o

f soil ad

ded

sho

uld

cover th

e bo

ttom

of th

e cham

ber to

a dep

th o

f 0–3 mm

after settling

. To

increase th

e nu

mb

ers of certain

species, n

utrien

ts may b

e add

ed (see

“Care an

d Feed

ing

” un

der G

eneral M

etho

ds).

Oth

er mean

s of extractin

g m

icrolife fro

m lim

no

-terrestrial hab

itats inclu

de

the u

se of B

earman

n fu

nn

els or a n

ested screen

sieve series (see “Related

Pro

du

cts From

Caro

lina”).

Man

y of th

e larger m

icroin

hab

itants o

f limn

o-terrestrial “m

icro-

wild

ernesses” w

ill be visib

le wh

en estab

lished

Micro

Aq

uariu

m™

cultu

resare exam

ined

with

a micro

scop

e. It is com

mo

n to

find

variou

s algae,

pro

tozo

a, nem

atod

es, rotifers, an

d w

ater bears in

man

y terrestrialm

icroh

abitats. In

locatio

ns seaso

nally w

et or w

here th

e hab

itat is mo

ist for

lon

ger p

eriod

s of tim

e, ostraco

ds an

d co

pep

od

s (micro

crustacean

s) areco

mm

on

, as are micro

turb

ellaria (nearly m

icrosco

pic flatw

orm

s). So

me

interestin

g fo

rms o

f amo

ebae, alg

ae, fun

gi, an

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26

Micro

grap

hia. “...fo

r stud

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d teach

ers of (esp

ecially) fresh w

aterb

iolo

gy in

their search

for creatu

re iden

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...”

http

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Micscap

e Mag

azine: T

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on

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K. S

eeesp

ecially “Po

nd

Life ID K

it” and

“Th

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the W

eb.”

http

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icrosco

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tml

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