This project aims to provide fish keepers with a safe and simple way to feed their pets while abroad or in any other situation where they do not have the ability to feed their fish by hand. Overfeeding is an unfortunate albeit common reason for mass death in an otherwise safe and healthy aquarium. While overfeeding to land dwelling pets might have negative health implications, the rapid damage seen in an aquarium is unparalleled in other environments. This is due to the release of ammonia that occurs when excess food (and partially fecal matter) is decomposed. Moderate feedings provide adequate nutrition for the pets, while keeping ammonia production at a level where it can be converted to nitrite and lastly the rather harmless compound nitrate. Most, if not all, feeders on the market today base their feedings solely off of volume, but this can lead to large variations in feeding size, due to variations in air between pellets in the feeding portions. By adding a failsafe with weight, we can fully prevent any chance of overfeeding, and thus ensuring a long and healthy life for our pets. Overall the goals of a safe fish feeder were accomplished, although the weighing was not as accurate as it optimally would have been. / Med det här projektet syftar vi på att tillförse akvarieägare med ett tryggt och enkelt sätt att mata sina fiskar när de är utomlands eller av annan anledning inte har möjlighet att mata för hand. Övermatning är en olycklig men dessvärre vanlig anledning till massdöd i ett annars hälsosamt akvarium. Även om övermatning hos landdjur kan ha ohälsosamma konsekvenser, så är det aldrig lika skadligt på kort sikt som det är i ett akvarium. Det här beror på att överbliven mat (och även till viss del avföring) i en vattenmiljö snabbt omvandlas till ammoniak under förmultning. Lagom stora matningar ger all näring fiskar behöver, medan enbart en halt ammoniak som kan omvandlas till nitrit och därefter det relativt harmlösa nitratet uppstår snabbt nog för att vara ofarligt. De flesta - om än inte alla - fiskmatare på marknaden idag baserar sina portioner på enbart volym. På grund av variationer i mängden luft mellan foder så kan då mängden mat ha stor variation. Genom att lägga till en säkring med vikt, så kan vi helt och hållet motverka all risk för övermatning, och på så vis säkerställa ett långt och hälsosamt liv för våra husdjur. Överlag lyckades vi skapa ensäker fiskmatare, men dessvärre var inte vågen lika noggrann som den optimalt hade varit.

Although many science educators and researchers believe that emotion is an important part of the learning process, few researchers have dealt with the topic in a systematic fashion. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of emotion in the learning process, particularly in the learning of science content. My study utilized a dimensional perspective which defined emotion in terms of arousal and valence, and drew on research from the fields of psychology and neuroscience to examine how emotion affects different aspects of cognition such as attention and memory. On the basis of these findings, I developed and tested a path model to investigate the predicted relationships among emotional arousal, valence, attention, intrinsic motivation and short- and long-term learning outcomes. I conducted the study in two phases. The first phase took place in a psychology laboratory in which participants watched either an exciting or neutral nature video, read a factual article related to the video and were tested on their learning. The second phase took place at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in which participants watched a narrated otter or sea lion presentation and took a short posttest after the show. In both phases, participants' emotional arousal, valence, attention, and motivation levels were also measured for inclusion in the model. The results indicated that emotional arousal was an important predictor of short-term learning in both experiments although its effect was fully mediated by attention at the aquarium. In addition, negative valence (displeasure) and intrinsic motivation were strong predictors of short-term learning in the laboratory experiment. At the aquarium, the narrator of the animal presentation strongly affected both attention and short-term learning—visitors who listened to a non-scripted rather than a scripted narration paid more attention and had significantly better short-term learning outcomes. In the aquarium study, emotional arousal correlated strongly with several measures of long-term learning. In particular, those who felt more arousal during the animal presentation were able to describe their experience at greater length and with more detail and complexity two to three months after their visit. My findings suggest that emotional arousal is an important component of science learning both directly and through its relationship with attention. Therefore, science educators in both informal and formal learning institutions may be able to increase both attention and learning outcomes by designing emotionally arousing learning experiences around the science content they wish to teach. In addition, the importance of narrator quality in the aquarium study suggests that narrators and teachers should be trained to deliver information in such a way that supports short- and long-term science learning. / Graduation date: 2012

Thesis deals with the theoretical design of an automatic control system for the aquarium and following simulation software environment Proteus ISIS. Due to simulation program can verify the behavior of the microprocessor in the specified functions, the correctness of electrical connections and errors in source code. The second part is analysis of commercial systems, their characteristics and applications. Apart from available commercial systems, there is a basic overview of commonly used peripherals in the aquarium, including their comparison and evaluation. Furthermore, the implementation of a complex system is done and the procedures and methods needed to set up the system are described. This topic also deals with cooling and reliability tests.

Design and evaluation of real-time descriptive mediation (RTDM) for live aquarium exhibits was proposed to support the participation of visitors with and without vision loss. RTDM was developed to address learning, entertainment, restorative, and social motivations. Data was collected during a lab study with adults to get feedback about the RTDM and compare it to traditional docent presentations and audio tours. Findings show that the RTDM made it possible for participants to address their exhibit motivations and led to specific personal and social aspects of participation. A majority of participants with and without vision loss reported that the RTDM was supportive of their motivations and perceived it to be more effective at supporting learning, social, and restoration motivations compared to audio tour and docent mediation. The main contributions of this work are in: 1) developing evidence-based information design criteria for mediation at live animal exhibits; 2) demonstrating that mediation designed to support exhibit motivations can facilitate participation in adults with and without vision loss; and 3) validating participation as a design goal.

The first part of my thesis is focused on observation of the leaf damage by invertebrate herbivores during season. I examined how the selected traits affect the palatability of plant species. In the next project, I investigated the effect of herbivory and gaps on seedling establishment. And finally, in the last part, I studied the effect of herbivory of terrestrial gastropods on competitive relationships among selected species.

This thesis project describes the design and construction of an automated system for maintaining live conditions in aquarium. The main purpose of the system is to automate certain procedures and to ensure control of important environmental parameters of artificial breeding of aquarium animals and plants. The device regulates lighting, temperature, CO2 concentration and other parameters. The LCD with touch screen is used to system control and to display measured values.

This thesis is focused on design and commissioning of appliance for operating and status display in the aquarium. The first part of the thesis deals with the possibilities of solving particular problems of the system and defines the requirements which the system has to fulfil. The next section of the thesis describes design of hardware part of the system and its software.

No description available.

The clown loach Chromobotia macracanthus, is a well known species in ornamental fish circuits although the knowledge about it in its wild environment today is limited. The outtake of 50 million juveniles every year may drive the population into a collapse and it might be necessary to breed clown loaches in captivity to lower the pressure in wild stocks. This has not yet been accomplished without hormone treatment. The aim of the present study is to find out if it is possible for C. macracanthus to prepare for spawning in captivity without the use of hormones. The study was set up according to documentation about the wild conditions simulating the migration prior to spawning from greater rivers and swamps to smaller streams upriver. Although the experiment did not result in spawning it is believed that egg production took place according to criteria for identifying sexually mature fish ready to spawn. If so it would have resulted in the fish retaining or reabsorbing the eggs since they were not laid. A surprising result which tells us it would not be unusual with egg production in C. macracanthus in aquariums around the world.

No description available.