Living Things in Pond Water- Protista Lab Activity

Introduction
When Anton van Leeuwenhoek invented the compound microscope in the 1600s, one of the first things
that he examined was pond water. To his surprise, he discovered wee beasties swimming around in
the water. He thought they were very simple animals, so he called them Protozoa, or first animals. In
this lab, you will examine representatives of the Kingdom Protista. We will also revisit Leeuwenhoek's
famous examination of pond water. You will be observing organisms with the animal-like phylums
including Phylum Mastigophora (the flagellates), Phylum Ciliophora (the ciliates), and Phylum Sarcodina
(the sarcodines).
Purpose:
i) to observe the living things in pond water
ii) to observe protists found in a sample of water and to attempt to identify and classify the protists
within their correct
phyla based on observed characteristics.
Materials: pond water samples, concave slides, cover slips, methyl cellulose or gelatin solution,
toothpicks, pipettes.
Procedure and Observations:
1. Obtain a sample of the pond water culture using a pipette. Place a few drops of the sample
in the well of the concave slide and add a cover slip.
2. Examine the slide under low power. While examining the slide, try moving it around so you
can see the entire protist population on the slide.
3. Switch to high power and attempt to examine the protists in detail.
4. Some of the organisms will be moving quite rapidly in and out of the field of view. You may
attempt to slow down the organisms by adding a few drops of the quieting solution (either
methyl cellulose or gelatin solution).
5. When you locate organisms compare it with pictures of reference charts provided and
attempt to identify the protozoans.
6. Sketch three different protists you were able to observe. It may be helpful to take a
picture of your slide in case the protist continues moving.
7. Fill in table below with as many different beasties as you can (minimum of 5).
Name

Kingdom

Phylum

Frequency

Description

Analysis Questions: (answer on a separate piece of paper)

1. What is the best characteristic you can use to place protozoans in their correct phylum?
2. Did you see any difference in the types or numbers of protists you saw when you examined
different samples of pond water from different locations of the beaker (top or bottom)?
3. What structures did you observe that were similar or common in all the protozoans?
4. Why was the methyl cellulose or the gelatin solution added to your slide?
5. The pond water sample was placed in a beaker of water containing hay that was covered in
bacteria. Within a week the protist population had significantly increased. Suggest a reason
for the population explosion.
6. Predict what would happen to the protist population if it was left alone and nothing new was
added to the beaker.
Conclusion: Write a concluding paragraph summarizing what the lab taught you about Kingdom
Protista and the characteristics that place organisms within their phyla.