Pond Life

Protozoan animal-like single celled organisms with a nucleus. are often classified according to their locomotion – pseudopods, flagella, or cilia

Amoebae & Ciliated Protozoa Clearvue & SVE, Inc. Powermedia.com

Algae - are plantlike organisms that make food by photosynthesis. There are over 40,000 species! Most species of algae live in the sea, in lakes, or in ponds. Some single-celled green algae live in moist conditions on land, such as on tree trunks, on the surface of the soil, or on damp brickwork. Others live inside lichens.

Clearvue & SVE, Inc. Powermedia.com

Flagella A flagellum is a whip-like structure used for locomotion. This small flagellated Peranema has a long flagellum that only moves at the front end almost like a propellor.

If you remove the gut from a termite and puncture it you will find the gut is crammed with the weirdest looking protists. This variety has many long flagella. These protists help the termite to digest wood. The actual digestion of the wood is done by bacteria living inside the protists. The images were made with a 40X objective. The protists are less than a tenth of a millimeter!!

Pseudopodia “False feet” used for movement and are also used to capture prey An Amoeba moves with pseudopods and engulfs its prey.

Cilia Small hair like extensions used for locomotion and for feeding. Euplotes (left) and Stylonychia (right)