In order to focus a high powered lens, you have to turn the knob using the scanning lens. Then rotate the high powered lens. To make a wet mount you must get a small sample to place on a slide, then add a few drops of water and place the slide cover on top. Press firmly until it sticks but don't crack the glass. To stain a slide, you put a drop of stain on the edge of the slide cover. Using a small paper towel,  put it against the opposite end of the slide cover and it will act as a magnet. When the stain has been pulled in it should cover the specimen on the slide. I had really no knowledge of microscope usage and it helped me understand new aspects of the microscope.

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Amphibians

Each and every frog has an unique mating call. Their life cycle includes three stages; egg, larva, and adult. Frogs are carnivores, so they only eat meat and not plants. There are between 5000 and 6000 species of amphibians alive today. They are declining and 1/3 are either threatened or extinct. Amphibians need water for respiration. They need to keep their skin moist so the gas exchange can occur. They are sensitive bio-indicators of degraded stream habitats and water quality.

  

Aquarium Update

Dear diary, our fish are getting along well, but they are hiding in the back of the tank often. They don't eat often either. I don't know what is wrong with them. I hope they survive. Other than that, they seem to be pretty normal for fish.

Watershed

Watersheds are areas of land where water meets to runoff into lakes or oceans. We live in the Elm Fork branch of the Trinity Watershed in Flower Mound, TX. We need to restore our water supply, so by learning about our watersheds, we can try to do that. We can provide protection of animals and plants that grow in our watershed, and there are many benefits including food and oxygen.

Mata Mata

A mata mata (Chelus fimbriatus) is a freshwater turtle that inhabits the Amazon and Orinoco basins in South America. They are entirely aquatic, although they prefer shallow, stagnant water, where they can easily reach their head out of water to breathe. The mata mata can grow quite large, up to 33 pounds. They feed on invertebrates and fish and aren't dangerous to people. I chose this organism because I like turtles and was interested in a very bizarre and unique aquatic turtle that I have never heard of before. 

Aquarium Update

As of April 18th, we have not added fish into our aquarium, but we are about to tomorrow. I just have to go to the store to get them. Our water is still looking good and clear, and our water tests went great. Both Ammonia and Nitrate tests were at zero. We are able to finally get some fish. I plan to get two angelfish of different color.

Organisms

We got to look some pond water that was brought into class.We were looking for some small organisms. There were small shrimp, snails, and some worms. We put some of the small shrimp things in our aquarium. They disappeared into the rocks and were never to be seen again. There is no way of knowing if they survived or not.

Freshwater Careers

Of the many career options, three stuck with me the most. An Entomologist is a zoologist who primarily studies insects. A freshwater biologist studies plants and animals in a freshwater ecosystem. A freshwater ecologist studies how animals and plants fit into the freshwater ecosystems. The pictures are in order of Entomologist, freshwater biologist, and freshwater ecologist.

Lakes

   Ecological Succession refers to more-or-less predictable and orderly changes in composition or structure of an ecological community. Each type of lake is a different and has its own changes in composition or structure. In Freshwater Ecology, we need to know which type of plants and animals live in each type of lake. Mesotrophic describes our bottle, and Lewisville Lake is eutrophic.         

                                       

Oligotrophic Lake

Mesotrophic Lake

Eutrophic Lake

Freshwater Ecology

I took it as the study of life in freshwater as compared to the ocean. It is important because we live much closer to freshwater than oceans and we get our water from freshwater lakes and rivers. A pond is fed by a river and the river is constantly flowing. Ponds do not lead to the ocean. A pond is not tributary to a larger body of water.

Water Issue Presentations

I learned that our pond near Kid's Castle is full of waste and is not taken care of properly. I learned that zebra mussels damage both marine and human life. I learned that steak uses 1200 gallons of water compared to the 15 of salad. The largest dam is the Three Gorges Dam. Gravity moves sewage from your home to the waste water plant. The best presentation by far was the one on Water Pollution at the pond near Kid's Castle because they used videos to explain everything. Going back, I wish we would have included videos in our presentation and made it more exciting.

Progress

As of right now we still do not have any fish. Our water quality has gotten better since it was cloudy and turbid. We failed both tests for water quality, but we were not that far off. We have added more bacteria in the water in order to get better results for water quality tests. Hopefully the next time we test our water, the results will be much better so we can add fish to our tank.

Ammonia and Nitrate

When these two factors get too high, they can harm and kill fish. Ammonia is produced when fish pee and nitrate is produced from the waste of the bacteria that eat the ammonia. In order to test for these you have to get a sample of your tank water, put the right amount of drops from the bottle for each type of test and wait to compare it to a chart. The lower the better when it comes to these tests.

Observation

All the rocks in this aquarium are lined up. I infer that the owner likes this type of fish and keeps this tank very clean. I think that the organization of the fish tank is boring and the rocks and plants should be moved around. A good observation is one that can be spotted by anybody. Observations are important because people need to understand what they are looking at. Inferences and opinions do have a place in science because debate is a important factor in all studies. 

Water Issue Presentation

Our water issue was conservation of water and I chose this topic because I already knew many ways to conserve water. Also, I think this is a important issue because our society today does not have sympathy towards water or trees or the environment for that matter. If our presentation changes the lifestyle of just one classmate, then we have accomplished our goal.

Our water property demo was about specific heat, and we blew up a balloon with water and held it over a lit candle to prove that the water will not allow the balloon to pop because the water absorbs the heat. Everything went exactly as planned, except one of our classmates got a balloon in her face. I learned that water is known as the "universal solvent". Water has a high level of surface tension. I learned the difference between hard water and soft water. I learned that salt and sugar are polar so they dissolve well in water. I also learned that water sticks to itself easily.

Set Up

We set up our aquarium with a rock right in the middle and as of the set up, we did not have a filter so our water was very cloudy and turbid. After we got the filter, the water has cleared up and looks fine. Cleaning out the rocks and getting the dirt off of them was by far the most time consuming part. Even though our ammonia and nitrate tests eventually failed, I think our water will be ok.

Plans for aquarium

Right now, other than having two different types of fish, I don't know what types to get. My goals for the assignment are to keep the fish alive and healthy, while maintaining a clean environment that the fish will enjoy. I'm not sure if I will be able to keep it clean, but we will see.

Water Uses

The many uses of water range from drinking to watering your lawn, and through many other people I learned other uses of water that had slipped my mind. We use water for almost everything. After all, it is 70% of our bodies and our planet. With the ways to conserve our water, I learned new ways to help our ecosystem including taking quicker showers and not wasting that water that I couldn't finish from my glass. The benefits of living near a lake showed me that while there are some benefits, the negatives outweigh them. The noise and attraction of people would frustrate me even though I enjoy swimming and fishing.