Week 3
This week displayed the least amount of change since the beginning of the experiment. I found no new organisms during my observations, and the ones that I did find are doing pretty much the same thing they were doing last week. There was a noticeable difference in the amount of food pellet that was left in the aquarium though. The stentors are still flourishing, and the deros are increasing in size.
I decided to do some more research on the protective tubing that the dero have built around them, since they all seem to have them now. I came across a zoomorphology article that had this to say on the subject. These worms build tubes out of fine debris using mucous secretions. These tubes are usually open on both ends, allowing the worms posterior and anterior to poke out both ends. The worms are able to leave their tubes, although they do not like to. They can be forced to wiggle tail first out of the tube though if touched on the head with a blunt pin. Shadows and change in light make them retreat quickly into these tubes.(Bunk 2000)
Hopefully next weeks observations will be more fruitful and some new organisms or behavior can be discovered.
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