Daphnia Lab Report

Pinnington, N., Elliott, A., Sciences, F. of L., Manchester and Kingdom, U. (2007) Proceedings of the physiological society. Available at: http://www.physoc.org/proceedings/abstract/Proc%20Physiol%20Soc%208PC39 (Accessed: 3 March 2016).

After completing the experiment we found that when we gave the Daphnia caffeine the heartbeat rate did show an increase. However, we also found that alcohol also increased the number of times the heart beat. Even though we performed all of the experiments very carefully, we cannot be certain that the effect we saw was due to the drugs. Perhaps the change in heartbeat rate is caused by

Ectothermic animals are animals whose body temperature is affected by their surroundings. This means that if the environment is cold the animal will be cold. If the environment is warm the animal will be warm. This is because the animal doesn’t have the capability of regulating its body systems to keep a constant body temperature. When an ectothermic animal is cold, its heart rate will lower. When the animal is warmer, the heart rate will raise – as long as the temperature isn’t sufficiently high to harm the animal. (Campbell, 2005)

The mole is a convenient unit for analyzing chemical reactions. Avogadro’s number is equal to the mole. The mass of a mole of any compound or element is the mass in grams that corresponds to the molecular formula, also known as the atomic mass. In this experiment, you will observe the reaction of iron nails with a solution of copper (II) chloride and determine the number of moles involved in the reaction. You will determine the number of moles of copper produced in the reaction of iron and copper (II) chloride, determine the number of moles of iron used up in the reaction of iron and copper (II) chloride, determine the ratio of moles of iron to moles of copper, and determine the number of atoms and formula units involved in

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the relationship between tail spine length and hemoglobin levels as well as the relationship between tail spine length and heart rate. The concentration of the hemoglobin in Daphnia is dependent on the oxygen available to them.

It should be noted that not all supplies are listed here as exactly what is needed to perform each method but a complete list can be found in the lab manual preceding each experiment.

items presently in solid form in the lab kit or purchased separately for this laboratory

Daphnia, also known as water fleas, are small crustaceans about 1mm-5mm long and are part of the freshwater zooplankton (Ebert 2005, Hutchinson 2005 & Clifford 1991). Daphnia can be found in most fresh water habitats such as freshwater springs, ponds and reservoirs and are the predominant food for planktivorous fish. Dapnia are ‘filter feeders’ meaning they feed on small particles suspended in the water which can include algae. It has been found that daphnia tend to migrate to the upper parts of the water at night and return to the lower parts of the water in the day to hide from predators (Ebert 2005) (Hutchinson 2005). Daphnia can reproduce through sexual reproduction and also asexual

To conduct this study a culture of living Daphnia were collected from a nearby natural water source area.

Daphnia is an order of cladoceran that are a part of the genus of small crustaceans ranging from one to five millimeters in length (Campbell, 2004; Corroto 2010). Daphnia are also naturally transparent, allowing for a variety of research opportunities that are observable with current day technology. Water fleas are another name for Daphnia due to their distinct, jerky swimming patterns (Chin, 2011; Campbell, 2004). Additionally, Daphnia seem to have tufts of hair, relatively large eyes, and red “lips”. Daphnia also feature an ocellus, a light-sensing organ under the compound eye (Chin, 2011; Corotto, 2010).

To conduct this study a culture of living Daphnia were collected from a nearby natural water source area.

The additional species, Daphnia Pulex are a derivative from Daphnia Magna, which can be in located rain filled tire ruts and any stable body of water. These daphnia are established in fresh water and maintain the highest concentrations of daphnia compared to other species can be found in lakes and ponds. Daphnia magna is a water flea dependent on environmental conditions to breed and survive. Conditions such as temperature, salinity and oxygen levels can be detrimental to the lifespan of these organisms (Elenbaas, 2013. Within their existing environment daphnia consume algae, bacteria and detritus; it is this continual uptake of these organisms, which maintains the food chains integrity. Daphnia also host a number of bacteria, fungi, nematodes,

In this experiment we find how caffeine can affect the heart rate of a culture Daphnia. Heart rate of a living organism’s can vary depending on the individual, age, body size, heart conditions, medication use and even temperature. This report will examine if the caffeine is good or bad for the living organism’s health and body. And discuss about where the caffeine is produced and used in daily life of human beings and on the environment. Daphnia is a water flea used in this experiment because of its genomic infrastructure with wide range of phenotypic diversity. This quality of Daphnia makes them a versatile model for the experiment. Also their transparent body allows the experimenter to visually see how the heart beats and count them under the light microscope during the experiment as required. The heart rate of Daphnia is monitored under different concentration of caffeine solution and the results are shown in a table and a graph. Experiment carried out to locate the effects of caffeine on a heart rate of Daphnia may or may not be a predictor of change in human heart rate under caffeine. The effects of caffeine can also be tested on humans but those experiment involving humans contains high risk, as Daphnia can only live for a short period of time and in nature most of them get eaten within their first few days or weeks of life.

The experiment took place in a laboratory setting, and the first step was obtaining sixty individual Daphnia magna (that were neither adults nor tiny offspring) from a large tank in the lab. These individuals were equally divided into three groups; low density, medium density, and high density. The twenty Daphnia assigned to the low density group were split into four groups of five and pipetted into one of four tubes filled with 10mL of Chlamydomonas algae. The twenty Daphnia assigned to the medium density group were split into two groups of ten and placed into one of two tubes also filled up to 10mL with Chlamydomonas. The final twenty Daphnia were all placed into a single tube filled with 10mL of the algae. In order to avoid suffocation-related

Daphnia are used to test water toxicity, they are a vital part of fresh water ecosystems. They are a food source for smaller fish and invertebrates and considered to be a consumer of algae and bacteria (Elbert, 2005). These small crustaceans range in size from 2-5mm long and are commonly referred to as water fleas. Daphnia belong to the group called Daphniidae, which is a relative of freshwater shrimp. It is easy to see the internal organs of daphnia because of a transparent taco shell like carapace. A carapace is the hard outer part of a shell or covering. A daphnia’s life span can range between 1-56 days. (Elenbaas, 2013; Clare 2002). The comfortable pH level for daphnia is between 7.2 and 8.5 (Clare, 2002).