Blog Assignment #4: Mystery Pond Water Organisms
Blog Assignment #4: Mystery Pond Water Organisms (group)
Group Members: Hazel Arman, Greyson Hamilton, Michelle Le, Eloina Rodriguez
Procedure: Post a photo of at least 3-4 organisms (1 per person in your group) that your group found in the pond water. Try to identify the organisms to the best of your ability and tell us what resources you used to ID your organism. Answer the questions below. You will be assessed on meeting the assignment requirements (3-4 photos, ID of each organism & addressing the assignment questions) and your reflection on the assignment.
Figure 1: Shows a plethora of organisms in the pond water sample, however, the organism identified is the colonial green algae found in the left corner. This conclusion is based on the pond water 3 poster in lab provided below.
Figure 2: Shows the pond water poster provided to us in lab.
Figure 3. Image of pond organism identified as Closterium by referring to Pond III poster of photosynthetic microlife.
- Describe the organisms that you found in your samples.
We found colonial green algae, desmids, diatoms, and euglenoids in our pond water samples.
- What organisms are they and what is their function in the pond system (autotroph, heterotoph, predator, food source for other organisms, etc.).
Many of the organisms were photoautotrophic, relying on sunlight to power chemical reactions required to live. There may have been heterotrophs found in the sample as well as many of the
- Did you find anything in the pond water that was unexpected?
The colonial green algae were found in close proximity in the upper left corner of one of our pond water samples. In one of our samples the organisms were centrally located and less likely to be found in the peripheral area.
- Reflection: What did looking at pond water make you realize about the organisms that inhabit that niche?
Looking at pond water reinforced the idea that an extensive amount and diversity of organisms can occupy a single environment. The fact that a single niche can support so many different kinds organisms also suggests that they have established symbiotic relationships which allow these organisms to co-habitate and be beneficial to each other.
- Write at least 3 scientific questions based on your observation.
What effects would removing one single species have on this niche?
Which of these organisms are parasitic or not beneficial to the aquatic system established in this niche?
Base on what source we can say this organisms are photoautotroph?
- Write a hypothesis based on observation above.
- These organisms are autotrophic due to the chloroplast existence
Figure 4
figure 5
I was just curious which slide did you use to sketch figure 4 since there were so many organisms. Also how did you guys identify all of them?
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting cluster of organisms in figure 1. It is nice that you were able to identify the colonial green algae from all of that. Were you able to identify anything else from that same cluster? I like your question about how it would effect the niche if one organism was removed. If you were to test that which organism would you remove?
ReplyDeleteIt's impressive how many organisms you found in Figure 1! Maybe I'm just bad at slide-making but all of the organisms I found were so spread out, it was hard to find each one of them let alone so many all together. It would have been cool to observe that many in such close quarters!
ReplyDeleteIn the paragraph where you answered what the function of the organism in the pond system is, the last sentence is cut off.
ReplyDeleteI like your first scientific question. How would you measure effect?
Good job adding in the poster of the pond water organisms, it helps to know what the organisms are supposed to look like in such a big cluster.
ReplyDeleteMissing pond water ID for some organisms. Needed to ID 3-4 organisms.
ReplyDelete