Pond Identification
Need:water
Protista for beginners
Protista are organisms that have the characteristics of both plants and animals and cannot go into either group so they are just thrown in here.True protozoans are single celled micro organisms that are classified in the group of phyla in the Protista kingdom.Some examples include amoeba,flagellate,and ciliate.
Amphipods
This appears to be a amphipod.A crustacean that has a curved,compressed body,a hump back and are scavengers.
Medium magnification
Ciliate-peritrich
Ciliate-peritrich have cylindrical or bell shaped bodies,cilia,and are often colonial.
Medium magnification
Rotifers
Rotifers have cilia on a structure that spins to create a whirlpool to suck in food,they are transparent,and they freely move around.
Medium magnification
Algae-Protista
Green algae are non branching,chains of cells with chloroplast that have no flagella.
Medium magnification
Flatworm
This may be a flatworm that is more on the round side.Flatworms have eyespots,are flattened,and move in a gliding motion.
Medium magnification
Desmid
This is a banana shaped desmid.Desmids are green,come in various shapes,and have no flagella.
Medium magnification
Science questions
1.The most common organism was the rotifer.
2.It was hard to take pictures of Protista because there was always glare on the microscope lens so it's hard to get good pictures without glare.
3.The most interesting organism was the amphipod because it looks like a tiny shrimp
4.The Rotifers seemed to glide around and it could have been moving using cilia.
5.Amphipods are an important source of food especially in the diets of trout.They are important scavengers and prey in their ecosystems.They mostly eat detritus but they do also eat algae.