This week i have learned that there are multiple types of algae. I also learned that only specific type can survive in different water types. Different algae such as Batrachospermum and Euglena help determine clean and polluted water. Algae such as Batrachospermum  can only survive in clean water while Euglena can survive in heavily polluted water.



Anabaena
1.Odor resembles that found in pig pens.
2. This algae can fix it's own nitrogen.



Pandorina
1. Has a fishy odor.
2. Occurs in groups of 8, 16, or 32.



Closterium
1. Causes blooms in southern states.
2. Contains gypsum crystals in tips.

To focus on a the high power objective you must first start on the scanning objective. Once there you focus on scanning so that the specimen is clearly visible. After this you want to move up to low power and focus in using the coarse adjustment knob. Once adjusted you can move up to high power. From here you only want to use the fine adjustment knob. To make a wet you want to place a specimen on the slide. Once placed you add a drop of  water. After this hold the cover slip at a 45 degree angle over the slide and drop it. If done correctly there should be no air bubbles. To correctly add dye, add a drop of dye to one side of the slip. Next take a paper towel and place it on the other side of the slip. With the magic of cohesion the towel should absorb water and move the dye under the slip. This lab really helped improve my microscope skills by both helping me be more patient when focusing and helping me prepare slides.

1. There are bewteen 5,000 and 6,000 species of amphibians known today.
2. Amphibians were the first four-limbed vertebrates.
3. Amphibians have simple body structures.
4. Most have life cycles which progress through 3 stages.
5. Amphibians are declining throughout the world.

Amphibians are reliant on water because it is needed for them to survive and their skin releases the water quickly. They are important because the habitat they live in and also we must study them in case of dangerous toxins they release.

Our aquarium is doing great. As for our water test, they remain the same as the week before so still good. Our turtle seems to be enjoying his new home but he keeps trying to swim to other tanks. He does this by attempting to swim through the glass. He has eaten three of our five fish already. The other two seem to be afraid of the turtle. We have made no changes since it seems like none needs to be made.

Watershed - Any area with flowing water which empties into a much larger body of water
We live in the Trinity River watershed. It is important to monitor the quality of this water because we are all going to consume or use it in some way, shape, or form. We may use it to drink, eat, play in, or wash with.

1. Common snapping turtle
2. Chelydra serpentina
3. They have powerful jaws and highly mobile necks and heads. Snapping turtles developed the snapping attack simply because they are too big. They are too big to fully fit in their shell so snapping is their way of a deffensive mechanism. They usually don't bight humans, when confronted they slip into the water.
4.
5.They eat anything they can swallow, which includes fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, and mammals, They are omnivores.
6. In most areas these turtles are hunted for their meat. This is used for turtle soup.
7. I chose the snapping turtle because, well, we have a turtle in our aquarium. Also, i wanted to learn more about my favorite type of turtle.

As of 4/18 our tank is looking good, and now even better after our water test results. Our water finally passed with a 10 on nitrate and 0 on ammonia. We are still addind bacteria to help ammonia levels. Some thing that might of also help was the addition of duckweed and plants to our tank. Hopefully we will soon add our turtle.

The organism shown above is a scud. An interesting fact about scuds is that they respond to light. They will try to avoid bright lights and are most often active during the night. What i have noticed about the organsim in my aquarium is that he tends to stick to the sides and he likes to swim up to the top of the water and just free fall down to the bottom.



This organism is a midge larva. An interesting fact is that, unlike most other insects, the blood of midge larvas are red. I have a hard time finding this organism in our tank. I think it died.



This organism is a snail. We actually have three snails in our tank, or should i say had. We believe our turtle mistook the snails for food and ate all three of them. From what we saw when they were alive was that they stuck to the sides of our tank and just moved up and down the sides. As they move they leave behind slime and that is how snails are able to move on walls and even upside down.

A wildlife biologist studies the behaviors of living and non living species. This is important because we need to know if there's any pattern or something specific an organism needs to survive.



A wildlife ecologist study how animals fit into their habitat and adapt to conditions. Knowing how they adapt to conditions help us understand them more and help us learn how to protect them.



An Entomologist is someone who studies insects. This is important because, for example, when we learned about mosquitoes carrying around diseases then it made us more aware and cautious of them. We wanna study about bugs to make sure stuff like that does not spread.

Oligotrophic have a low number of plants and animals making it very blue and able to see through it.
Mesotrophic have a normal or average number of plants and animals giving it a somewhat greener appearance.
Eutrophic have a large number and variety of plants and animals, also, a large amount of nutrient giving the lake a thick green color.


As lakes and ponds get older the number of species increase. Ecological succession is change so this is how these ponds are related to this. I would describe my tank as oligotrophic because there is maybe two types of plants in it and a turtle.

Freshwater Ecology is the study or organisms, the environment, and how they interact in that environment. By studying this the scientists can learn about patterns and about what different organisms need to survive and live. We need to learn about these ecosystems in order to protect them. A difference between a pond and a river is that a river contains more oxygen. Another difference is that a pond is sitting water while a river is flowing. Finally, water in a pond will remain there while a river will empty into a much larger body of water or the ocean.


   

1. More water is used to produce steak than a salad.
2. Zebra Mussels reproduce very quickly and can easily harm boats.
3. There is an app for highland village to report environmental problems.
4. Global warming not only decreases rain fall amount, but it also increases it in some areas.
5. Water from Lake Lewisville is not only used by us but also by several other regions, such as areas in Dallas.

The best presentation in my opinion was the one on Zebra mussels. The reason i found this one to be so interesting is because I have never heard of these things. Another reason is that the presentation was short that I stayed engaged the entire time. What I think we could of done better for our presentation would of been to reduce the information on our slides.

So far our aquarium is doing well. At first the water seemed cloudy. As days passed, and we added something to our water, it became clearer. The only problem with it is that the ammonia level is too high. Once the ammonia level settles we can get our turtle.Our nitrate level is fine while the ammonia is sitting at 1.0. The only true change we have made is simply adding bacteria to our tank.

Ammonia
1. Fill up a sample of water
2. Add 8 drops of ammonia 1
3. Add 8 drops of ammonia 2
4. Swirl the sample
5. Wait 5 min
6. Check the color of the water

Nitrate
1. Fill up a sample of water
2. Add 10 drops of Nitrate 1
2. Swirl the sample
3. Shake the bottle for Nitrate 2 for 30 sec
4. Add 10 drops of Nitrate 2
5. Swirl the sample for one minute
6. Wait 5 min
7. Check the color of the water

If the levels for ammonia and nitrate are not stable then the fish can die.

From this picture all i can see is one lone fish at the top right of the tank. I know for a fact that there are more than one fish in this tank. So this leads me to believe that this fish is somewhat more outgoing than the rest since he is willing to show himself to humans. A good observation is one which has a lot of detail and is not that obvious. These observations are important because you can watch fish life for patterns or inconsistencies.

For my water issue we chose the problem with building dams. Honestly I have been busy lately so i have not had time to look information up and see what problems dams create.

Our demo was on pH. I believe our presentation went well. It wasn't the most exciting presentation but I think people stayed awake.


1. I learned that by adding salt to water it allows items such as an egg to float.

2. I learned the difference between mixture and solution. Mixture being two substances which never really combine. Solution is two substances that become one.

3. I learned what adhesion and cohesion is and how it works.

4. I learned that salt water is more conductive than any other water.

5. I learned that a balloon with water will not pop, but without it will.

For our aquarium we first emptied out all the pebbles in it. After this we then poured some water into the tank and started scraping junk of the sides and bottom. This process is what probably took us the longest. Once we believed that the tank was clean we started cleaning rocks and pouring them back into the tank. Finally, once the pebbles and tank was clean we began filling the tank up with water.

My plans for our aquarium is to raise a turtle. I chose a turtle because I wanted to have something different from the rest of the class, and who doesn't want a turtle? The way our ecosystem will help the turtle survive is by providing everything it needs. Our tank will be set up differently than the rest of the class. ours will contain less water and more space for the turtle to hang out above water. The tank will provide a light source, lamp, and a big rock for the turtle to sleep on.

1. I learned about the pros and cons about living by a body of water. Such pros are job opportunities, fishing, and recreational activities. Cons are the lack of privacy, storms, and insects such as mosquitoes.

2. I learned about the multiple uses of water. Uses such as washing  a car, taking a shower, drinking, swimming, etc. This was a simple topic but it really got me thinking about all the multiple uses of water.

3. I learned about what we can do to conserve water. Ways to conserve are by turning off the sink while washing dishes, watering the lawn a lot less, and timing your showers.