ZOO 137 - Invertebrate Zoology Phylum Info File -- The Protozoans

Classification You Need To Know

Kingdom Protista (= Protoctista)
Subkingdom Protozoa (etymology: _________________________________________)

(Note: The ZCB refers protozoans to a single phylum, Protozoa. We will follow the more recent scheme of dividing them into three separate phyla.)

Phylum Sarcomastigophora - the ameboid and flagellate protozoans

Subphylum Sarcodina
(etymology: _______________________________________________)
(examples: ________________________________________________)
Subphylum Mastigophora
(etymology: _______________________________________________)
(examples of zooflagellates :__________________________________)
(examples of phytoflagellates :________________________________)

Phylum Apicomplexa - the spore-forming protozoans
(etymology: _______________________________________________)
(examples: ________________________________________________)

Phylum Ciliophora - the ciliated protozoans
(etymology: _______________________________________________)
(examples: ________________________________________________)

(You need to know the names and correct spellings of all these groups; for etymologies refer to your dictionary. On the example line, locate all the genera and other groups you observe in the laboratory.)

Things You Should Do Before Coming to the Lab on Protozoans

o Memorize the classification given above.
o Study Chapters 3-4 in Animals Without Backbones ("Study" means read and take notes.)
o Complete exercises 3-7 in The Zoology Coloring Book (optional but highly recommended)

Things You Should Do During the Lab

o Using a compound scope set up at your lab seat (scopes and lights are in the cabinets along the west wall), examine carefully each of the following six prepared slides. Some slides are better than others; so if you're having trouble seeing or finding something, try another copy of the slide.

Paramecium in conjugation - conjugation is a sexual reproductive process analogous to
copulation in multicellular animals (see your textbook).

Paramecium in fission (transverse binary fission, to be exact) - an asexual process
(You will have to search the field on the two above slides carefully in order to observe
specimens caught in "the act.")

Paramecium w.m. - observe visible organelles (macro- and micronuclei; contractile and
food vacuoles; cilia; cytostome)

Amoeba w.m. (w.m. = whole mount, as opposed to broken up or sectioned) - observe
visible organelles (nucleus; food and contractile vacuoles; pseudopodia)

Euglena w.m. - these are very small, use high power. Only the nucleus is clearly visible.

Volvox w.m. - a colonial phytoflagellate; you need to know its life cycle (see AWB)

o Examine each of the models of Amoeba, Paramecium and Euglena with the idea that you will be responsible for recalling the names and functions of the structures listed on the key.

A Special Note About Models: For each of these models, as well as all the others you observe in the lab during the quarter, you will get an outline to color and make notes. Models appear often on lab practicals; in fact, practically every model you see in this course will appear in a practical exam. They are important additions to your lab study - but they are not substitutes for seeing and knowing the real thing. Don't neglect are careful look at the slides or other specimens that the model is based on. For example, you need to recognize the organelles of Amoeba not only on the model but also in the prepared microscope slide.

o Examine the demonstration slides under the microscopes set up on the work benches in front of the room. Each comes with an information card you should read carefully. You may adjust the focus of these scopes, but please don't move the slides - you'll lose what you need to see.

Entamoeba histolytica -- two slides illustrating the encysted and trophozoite stages of this
pathogenic sarcodine, which causes amebic dysentery. Know its life history,
including the ecological significance of encystment.

Trypanosoma sp. -- a slide or two showing the zooflagellates that cause African
Sleeping Sickness and Chagas' Disease. Know the life histories of these pathogens.

Plasmodium sp. -- a slide showing infected human erthrocytes (RBCs). We will make a
big deal of the life history of this sporozoan group.

Trichonympha -- a polyflagellate obligate symbiont of termites.

radiolarians -- w.m. strew of their SiO2 skeletons (pretty, aren't they?)

foraminiferans -- w.m. strew of their CaCo3 skeletons, source of most of the world's
limestone.

Things You Should Do After the Lab

o Using all sources available to you, make a list of ten important features, characteristics, etc. of the protozoan protists. The first on your list could be that they are protists; another might be that they are eukaryotes.

o Be sure to correlate what you've observed in lab with your readings and lecture notes.