User:Sithara Thalluri/Notebook/Biology 210 at AU

1/28/15

Lab 2: Identifying Algae and Protists

Purpose: The purpose of this lab was to practice using a dichotomous key while observing our hay infusion cultures. Also in this lab we learned how to prepare and plate serial dilutions.

Materials and Methods: Procedure 1: In the first part of lab we observed pre-plated organisms and and attempted to sort them according to the dichotomous key. We also made wet mounts of known organism and then observed them. We made these observations under a 4X then 10X.

Procedure 2: In this part of the lab we examined our hay infusions from last week's lab. Once obtained, we noted the appearance and smell of our hay infusions (made with components of our assigned transects). We then extracted two different samples from our hay infusions - each representing a different layer or niche of our jar - and then prepared two wet mounts with each sample. Then, using the dichotomous key, we found three different organisms in each of our two 'habitats' from the top and bottom of the culture.

1.27.15 Good first entry. Need to include more detail for example there is no mention of the Hay Infusion set-up. Pictures would add information. The transect was 20Ft by 20Ft, not meters, there is a typo in the manual. SK

1/26/15

Lab 1: Biological Life at AU

Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to observe and analyze the ecological interactions occurring in our given “niches” represented by a 20 x 20 meter transect of land somewhere on campus. We will explore the sheer amount of biological diversity present just within American University’s campus alone through weekly visits to our given niches.

Materials and Methods: Each group was assigned a transect of land that is 20 x 20 meters large and we are responsible for observing and analyzing the ecology of the environment and recording data. The transect of land is the AU student run community garden behind Leonard Hall next to the campus tennis courts. We are responsible for weekly observations of our plot and data recording.

Data and Observations: We observed the agricultural nature of the transect which included an irrigation system(hoses running through each separate garden box), presumably fertilized soil(only in the garden boxes), and of courseseparate wooden garden boxes for each different plant. The plants present in our transect of the garden are brussel sprouts, lettuce, kale, and cucumbers. In addition to the more uniformed boxes, there is an area of stray leaves, mulch, and hay on the edge of our transect.

Biotic features of our transect included things such as: pests, rodents, birds, weeds, vegetables, earthworms, etc. While abiotic features included: air, water, soil, mulch, etc. One prominent factor that will determine the state of our transect is human interaction because it is a garden that depends on irrigation and human maintenance.

Conclusions and Future Directions: I think it will be interesting to observe the qualities in our transect in contrast to the more naturally occurring transects that students have - as our transect is so influenced by humans. I also am interested to see the interactions between the vegetables and the attraction of pests to the garden.

1/22/15 Test