Lichen Identification 3

Identifying Liverwort 2

Hyperphyscia 

Name: Hyperphyscia
Collection Date: 9/8/16
Habitat: Usually found on bark on areas that are shaded by canopy coverage. 
Location: Nelsons Ledges, Garretsville Ohio 
Description: Hyphae in lower cortex with smaller root like structures. Lay flat on surface they are growing on. Thallus is mostly never inflated. Usually light green in color. 
Key Used: http://ohiomosslichen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/KEY-TO-OHIO-GENERA-OF-MACROLICHENS.pdf

Keying Steps:
1. Thallus some shade of gray, green, yellow-green, brown, or black
2. Thallus thick or thin, not gelatinous when wet
3. Rhizines lacking
4. Folisose with narrow lobes
5. Thallus not inflated or perforated, very tightly appressed

6. Thallus gray-brown, usually on bark

Figure 1: Lichen under dissecting scope. 

Figure 2: Another view of lichen under dissecting scope. 

Solon Pond Identification

Frustulia

Algae Sample 

Name: Frustulia
Common name:  Green algae
Family:  Amphipleuraceae

Collection Date: Received in lab

Habitat: Records indicate that they are from freshwater streams. 

Location: (received in lab)

Description: Valves are the same on either side, each has a raphe (genus is biraphid). Boat shaped in valve view, rectangular in girdle view. Contains two longitudinal ribs alongside the raphe from the middle to each end of the valve. Chloroplasts golden-brown.
Key used: Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/algae/identification-guide/identify/guide

Keying Steps: 
1. Algae unicellular, not joined to neighboring cells. 
2. Cell has the form of a rigid clear box, chloroplasts brown.
3. Cell shape is semi-rectangular. 
4. Shape is symmetrical, one end is the reflection of the other, as are the two halves that the cell is split into.
5. Slit like canal is on at least 1 of the two cell faces. 
6. Boat Shaped in valve view with tapering ends. Raphes on both faces. Enclosed in parallel longitudinal ribs. 
7. Determined to be Frustulia. 



Figure 1: Frustulia under 40x microscope. Notice the brown coloration of chloroplast.


Figure 2: A clear-looking Frustulia under 40x microscope. Possible diatom, however it fits the description to the Frustulia. 

Figure 3: Typical looking Frustulia under 40x microscope. Notice brown coloration of chloroplast, and halving of the middle.

Petitis Pond Identification

 Closterium

Algae Sample 

Name: Closterium 
Common name:  Green algae
Family:  Closteriacaea 

Collection Date: Received in lab

Habitat: Found in freshwater lakes, ponds, and slow flowing streams. Can also be found in sewage streams. 

Location: (received in lab)

Description: unicellular with elongated cells formed on both ends of structure. Usually crescent shaped, sometimes straight. Two chloroplasts with many pyrenoids. Separated in middle by clear area in which the nucleus is found. 
Key used: Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/algae/identification-guide/identify/guide

Keying Steps: 
1. Algae are unicellular and not joined to other cells.
2. Cells crescent shaped with green contents.
3. Cells large and solitary, containing two chloroplasts separated by clear space in center.
4. Determined to be Closterium. 


Figure 1: Closterium under 40x microscope. Notice the clear middle that separates the chloroplasts.


Figure 2: A larger version of Closterium at 40x under microscope. Notice again, the clear middle. The small cells inside are the pyrenoids.

Algae Identification 2 Spirogyra

 Spirogyra

Algae Sample 

Name: Spirogyra
Common name:  Green algae
Family:  Zygnemataceae

Collection Date: 11/8/16

Habitat: Found around margarins of lakes, streams and ponds.

Location: (received in lab)

Description: unbranched, filamentous algae with cylindrical cells containing one or more green spiralling chloroplasts. Nucleus often seen in center. Ladder-like conjugation. Conjugation tubes form between filaments.
Key used: Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/algae/identification-guide/identify/guide

Keying Steps: 
1. Cells are multicellular.
2. Cells are filamentous.
3.  Cells are microscopic.
4.  Filaments are unbranched.
5. Chloroplasts inside are greenish-yellow. 
6. Cell wall smooth and feature-less, not easily dissociated from other cells.
7. Cells are wrapped around by the chloroplasts which are spiral shaped. 
8. Determined to be Spirogyra. 

Figure 1: Spirogyra under scope of magnification 10x. Notice filamentous, non-branching nature. 

Figure 2: Spirogyra under microscope of higher magnification of 40x. Notice spirals around the cells. Chloroplasts individually are spiral shaped. 

Duck Pond Algae Identification

Duck Pond Algae
Volvulina

Name: Volvulina
Common name:  "Little Roller"
Family: Coleochaetaceae

Collection Date: received in lab 

Habitat:Usually found in freshwater but can also be found in soil. Some or all are auxotrophic. 

Description: Spherical cells form colony. Individual cells have 2 flagella sticking out of them. Individual cells group differently in the matrix. 
Key used: A.R. Baker 2013, An Image Based Key: Algae

Keying Steps: 
1. Determined to be a part of the greens , Chlorophyceae.
2. Found to  be colonial. 
3. Determined to be Volvulina because this is the only group that demonstrated largely geometric clusters. 


Figure 1: Volvulina on 40x microscope. Notice the cells are colonial. What you cannot observe is that the center is actually filled with cells and does not have any open space. 


Figure 2: Volvulina under 40x microscope. Different, darker view. Cells are in a geometric shape. 

Algae identification

Algae
Coleochaete

Name: Coleochaete
Common name:  Green Algae 
Family: Coleochaetaceae

Collection Date: received in lab 

Habitat:Freshwater habitats such as lakes, both planktonic, aufwuchs, and benthic. 
Description: Multicellular. Branched in nature. Cells are uninucleate and the cells are usually greenish brown from chloroplast. 

Key used: A.R. Baker 2013, An Image Based Key: Algae

Keying Steps: 
1. Identified as Charophyte because of green chloroplast and round cells. 
2. Identified as Coleochaete due to round nature of cells bundled up with one another.
3. Identified to be just the crustose version.


Figure 1: A view of Coleochaete 10x under microscope.


Figure 2: Coleochaete 40x under microscope. Notice the shape of the cells and the green color of the chloroplast. The cells like to be arranged around one another.

Slime Mold Identification 1

Slime Mold 
Fuligo Septica

Name: Fuligo Septica
Common name:  Dog Vomit, Scrambled Eggs of slime, Flowers of tan
Family: Physaraceae

Collection Date: 11/10/16

Habitat:Grows on rotten wood and plant debris. Can also grow on leaves and stems of living plants.

Description: Cells join together to form plasmodium. Eventually the cells form the aethalium and become brightly colored as seen in the pictures. Can be anywhere from white to yellow-gray. Can be found in very different sizes.
Key used: http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?guide=Mycetozoa_GSMNP (no author information or date)

Keying Steps: 
1. Fruiting body identified to be Aethalium.
2. Spore mass color bright.
3. Found to be Fuligo Septica.





 
Figure 1: View of Fuligo Septica to the naked eye. 
 
Figure 2: Dog Vomit under dissecting scope.