User:Cassandra V. Sharp/Notebook/Biology 210 at AU
Lab 2: Identifying Algae and Protists 1/25/15
Purpose The intended purpose of this lab was to familiarize ourselves with observing eukaryotes under a microscope and to identify key features of such microbes, then to match these key features to those listed by a dichotomous key. The eukaryotes we examined were sampled from the transects we collected last week in lab.
Material and Methods This lab had three different components 1. Using a Dichtomous Key -we made a wet mound of the organism gonium then place it under the microscope -we observed the gonium slide at the 4x and 10x objectives -we noted the organism's ocular size and defining characteristics in our notebooks -using a dichotomous key, we compared our observed characteristics to those listed by the key -we successfully identified the gonium sample 2. Observing our Hay Infusion Culture -we obtained the hay infusion culture that we made last week and examined its appearance and smell -we took samples from two different niches in our culture- one from the floating gel-like blob, one from the water surrounding the culture's vegetation -we made two distinct wet mounds using these samples -we observed our prepared slides, noting key features of the organisms we observed -we compared our observed organisms to those listed on the dichotomous key and identified them 3. Preparing a serial dilution (this part of the lab was mainly a set up for next week)