The Lab
I really enjoyed the lab this past week. It was my favorite part of the BioCube experience. I was primarily working on using the microscope and the motic camera to take pictures of the specimens we collected in earlier weeks. It was really cool to see the details of the organisms we had collected. Some were too small to see clearly with the naked eye so having the microscope was extremely helpful. I found myself being really excited when I got a good picture of an organism and was able to see everything closely. For example, there was a beetle I looked at under the microscope. From the more zoomed in image, I could see the distinct yellow-orange stripes on its heat and the iridescent finish to its back. Some of the pictures I took were almost beautiful because of the color. I could also more clearly see the body of some of the more branch-like insects. While we were not in the field this past week, I had more resources to help me more clearly see the biodiversity in the stream. We also had more time to truly devote to documenting the organisms and understanding how they interact with other biotic and abiotic aspects of their environment. I was especially surprised to see that many of the insects had survived being in the cold fridge for a week. I had assumed many would die, but the majority did not.
Being in the lab gave me the ability to really analyze the ecosystem and the organisms within the ecosystem more carefully. While I did miss being outdoors and in nature, I think this experience was really valuable for me and my group.
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