nina132's Journal

During this final lab, we had all of our samples back in the lab classroom and we were instructed to analyze, photograph, and observe all of our samples. We didn't find too many organisms in the mud and water we had collected from our BioCube location. We did photograph all of the individual organisms we found and captured in our small Tupperware containers. Within these individual organisms, we photographed and observed some kind of beetle, a shell, multiple different plants, as well as what appeared to be a worm or caterpillar. We measured all of these animals using a ruler, and we included the ruler for reference sizing in our observations and pictures. Most of the organisms we found (shell, beetles, worm/caterpillar) were about 1 cm long, with the plants and earthworms being longer.
We also decided to try and observe our water and mud samples using a microscope to see if there were any protists or smaller organisms that would be visible. We prepared three different slides of the water and mud and used a dissecting microscope. However, we were unable to really see any protists or small organisms in these samples. The mud was too dark to see through and the microscope didn't focus well enough to observe anything in the water. If I had to guess, I'd say without a doubt there are some really cool microbes living in the water, but that observation might have to wait for another swamp team to find.
Most of the sampled organisms we had in our containers were dead during this lab period. The earthworms were the only animals really living but they actually ended up dying during the lab period, likely because they had dried out while exposed to the air and not in their watery and muddy natural environment.
Overall, it was really interesting to go through all of our samples from the swamp now that we were back in the lab. We really had more of the tools to observe and analyze our samples, and we could use the microscope to get some of the really finer details. For example, the earthworms under the microscope had very ridged bodies, with small nub-like legs or hairs protruding from the bottom of the worm. Those details were something we couldn't see just with the naked eye. Or I couldn't at least since I didn't have my glasses on.
I'm definitely going to miss being on the farm, but I probably won't miss the muddiness. Having the opportunity to go to the farm and observe nature and see what kind of biodiversity is really out there was a fantastic experience and I'm really glad that BioTAP got to do it. I saw a lot of things I don't think I expected and I learned a really significant amount about how diverse the swamp really can be. So overall, this was a really neat experience and I got to really see the levels of biodiversity present all around us.

During the third lab, things went slightly differently than during the previous lab trips to the farm. For our last lab, we were supposed to finish up our videos of our BioCube, collect samples, repeat the 15 minutes of silence, and again observe and document biodiversity. For my swamp group, our BioCube was not replaced after it was destroyed during the week between the first and second lab trips. However, we guesstimated where our BioCube would be and how much space it would take up to observe some of the organisms present in that area.
Starting off for this lab, we went to our initial BioCube location to observe what would be different and what we could find. Right away, we noticed that it was much muddier and the water level had risen significantly. The isolated section where we had initially put our BioCube in was actually overflooded and blocked off by a tree that had fallen. Everything was also much greener, with less dead-looking grass present in the swamp area and more green grass becoming visible. We did not see too many organisms, and those that we did see were pretty much the same as those in the last lab. A lot of the biodiversity we observed was in the plants. There were a few new plants that we found, but I mostly saw that the ones from last week had grown significantly. The skunk cabbage was much taller and the leaves had opened up even more. Their smell was also becoming much more present in our area as well. Within the area of our BioCube, we could see that there were bugs close to the mud once we disturbed the water and mud at the bottom. As well, for our samples, we decided to collect some of the mud and water as well as dead grass. Within these samples, as we packed them away, we could see that there were bugs and small organisms present there with varying phenotypes. We also decided to collect some samples closer to the edge of the swamp where the treeline was. We made sure to get the roots of certain plants included in the samples. When we dug up some of the plants, we also found other organisms, including other bugs and some worms, which we also collected to bring for sampling.
We also decided that it would be interesting to travel to different areas with swampland to see if there would be any differences in biodiversity. We traveled over to the swamp area closer to the beaver pond and the bike trail to see what differences we could find. Ultimately, we saw most of the same things for the swampland there, but we did see some differences in the types of plants there. While over in the beaver pond area, we continued filming for our BioCube video and also did some of our silent time there. It was really interesting to hear that there were different sounds present in this part of the farm. A couple of bird calls were heard and they sounded mostly the same, but there were a few new ones. One sounded like a woodpecker, which would make sense considering how much closer the forest was now. We could also see more birds, mostly present in the branches of the trees in the forest. They were mostly small and not very colorful birds and they often blended in with the branches very easily.
After doing some more observing at the beaver pond swamp area, we decided to go back to our initial swamp area to collect more samples and finish our minutes of silence. When we went back, we saw that there were now two geese coming up the stream towards us. We decided to use this time to have more silence so as to not scare away the geese and also observe how they interacted within this ecosystem. For the most part, they were just swimming up the stream. However, they did actually walk up onto the opposite bank of the stream and appear to be kind of nibbling at the grass that was growing on the side of the bank, which was cool to see. During this time we were also listening for the sounds of our ecosystem. Again I could hear a lot of bird calls and some water movement, but for the most part, a lot of it sounded much the same as last week.
Once we had finished the minutes of silence, we continued to pack up some of our samples. We obtained more mud, grass, water, and plants from our BioCube ecosystem and packaged them away in our containers to identify in next week’s lab. I’m hoping that we can find some things we don’t expect to see but who knows!

During the second lab, we got to observe a significant amount of organisms, visually but especially audibly. We traveled to our BioCube location, and the first thing we noticed was that our BioCube had been completely destroyed. It appeared that some kind of animal had tried to even eat it, as many of the pieces were bent and taken apart completely and the whole structure was bent and ruined. Nothing else in the area of our BioCube seemed any different; there was no other damage to the plants and everything looked much the same as it had the week before, except for the BioCube itself. After taking out our BioCube and establishing that we would probably need to build a new one instead of repair this one, we took our 15 minutes of silence. During these 15 minutes, it was possible to hear more than we had heard the first week, partially because it was warmer but mostly because it was far less windy. I could hear various birds during the fifteen minutes of silence, at different distances and with different calls. One made a very short, chirpy kind of noise, that went up in pitch at the very end. It seemed to be coming from across the stream. Another had a very repetitive, longer call that sounded more like a low-pitched trill, and that one was coming very close to where we placed our BioCube. Another one I could hear made more a medium length noise and was again rather repetitive but did not have a short and trill-like call. Within the area of the swamp, and after the fifteen minutes of silence when we began exploring our ecyostem, there were a lot more plants present than last week, or at least we found more than we did last week. Things seemed overall greener, and I found three or four different types of plants. One seemed to be a kind of moss that was closer to the treeline, and I found it growing near the base of one tree. It was very green, and low to the ground, with what appeared to be lots of pore-like areas. Also in the area closer to the treeline was a plant that we had seen the previous week. In the first lab, the plant had a reddish-purple part on its leaves and was also green. However, this week, the plant barely had any of the red-purple color and was mostly all green. Its leaves were also wider and had opened more than the previous week, where the leaves were mostly closed in towards the stalk and narrow. Within the swamp area, I found another few types of plants. One plant had a very long and thin green stalk, with very few leaves. It had a white-ish bulb-like end to it, with short and thin brown roots as well. I found this plant near the edge of the water in one of the more isolated pools of water and mud among the grass present in the swamp. Another type of plant I observed was a much shorter, thinner, and more delicate plant. It had a very thin green stalk, and at the top, there appeared to be two leaves. They were very round and flat and had a softer texture to them. The area where the stem became the roots was also white, but it did not have a bulb like the other plant did. The roots were also thin and brown but they were almost as long as the stem was. I again found this plant near the edge of the water and growing very much in the mud. Another plant I found seemed to be more of a part of a plant. I found what seemed to be a branch of a plant that was slightly reddish in color and had smaller branches coming off of it, each with small red berry or seed-like parts. I found this floating in the water. Similarly, I found another branch of a different plant, and this branch was a dark brown and did not have branches stretching off of it. Instead, it had branches very close to the stalk, and each branch had what appeared to be seeds on them, and the branches were spiraling around each other. Within the swamp area, I did not find too many organisms. When we began to investigate the water, we stirred up the water and mud and we did catch a few different bugs. There was a moth stuck on the top of the water, which was very small and white in appearance. Other than these bugs, there weren’t many other animals present that we could see. As we were leaving, a duck flew down and swam through the stream next to the swamp area which was pretty neat.
Overall, the swamp definitely produced more than last week and more than I was expecting. It was really interesting to hear all of the different organisms living together and to see the plants that had adapted to living in different areas.