Home What is a Microaquarium Selected Organisms
Methods Books&Links
University of
North Alabama Department
of Biology
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Books |
| Kell, G., et al. 2003. Pond Life:
A Guide to Common Plants and Animals of North American Ponds and Lakes
(Golden Guide) St. Martin's Press. Patterson, D. J. 1992. Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Color Guide. Wolfe Publishing. (out of print, but see the first website listed below) Rainis, K. G. and B. J. Russell. 1996. Guide to Microlife. Orchard Books. Smith, D. G. 2001. Pennak's Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States: Porifera to Crustacea, 4th Edition. John Wiley & Sons; 4th edition. Thorp, J. H. and A. P. Covich. 2001. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates, 2nd Edition. Academic Press. Voshell, J. R.. 2002. A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America McDonald & Woodward Pub Co. Go to
http://books.google.com/ and type in
the following titles to view or download these older classic works that,
while dated, have many illustrations and descriptions of micro-life:
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| The identification guides listed above have proven very useful in learning about the various life forms encountered in MicroAquaria. Voshell (2002) has written a great book to identify some of the larger animals suitable for the MicroAquaria (e.g. isopods, scuds, etc, as well as a large variety of insect larvae). Written for the non-specialist, this very well illustrated and organized book has plenty of detail to satisfy even professional biologists. Unfortunately, this book does not treat some of the most common, albeit smaller, freshwater invertebrates, e.g. copepods, ostracods, and rotifers. For a complete coverage of freshwater invertebrates in the U.S. see Pennak’s Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States (Smith 2001) or Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates edited by Thorp and Covich (2001). For identifying protozoa, Patterson’s Free-living Freshwater Protozoa is terrific. Unfortunately, his book is out of print (but see the first website link below). Rainis and Russell’s Guide to Microlife is a very nice beginner’s book as is Pond Life from the Golden Guide series (Kell 2003). Both include smaller forms of life (animal and protist) not covered by Voshell (2002). I highly recommend all of the books above. Undoubtedly, there are many other useful books, the list above simply includes those I turn to most often. |
| Links |
| The following are some of the many offerings on the web pertinent to the use of the MicroAquarium. |
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| Image based key to freshwater zooplankton |
| Collecting and identifying microorganisms (all from Micscape) |
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| Educational Resources |
Nematophagous Fungi - http://www.biological-research.com/philip-jacobs%20BRIC/index.htm Plant Pathology - http://www.apsnet.org/education/top.html - Educational resource from the American Phytopathological Society; organized by grade level and includes many lab exercises and other good stuff. Life in a Jar -
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/pond_life/index.html -
"Life in a Jar" by Mary Hoff & the Minnesota Dept. Natural Resources;
includes teachers guide. Dr. Ralp Wagner Little Plants and Animals Paramecium - http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/studies/invertebrates/paramecium.html - Studies on Paramecium from Rice Univ. Life in leaf litter -
http://cbc.amnh.org/center/pubs/pubscbcinverts.php?npid=8 - "Life in
the Leaf Litter" booklet free to download from the American Museum
of Natural History |