How to Identify the Protozoa in the Water in Your Pond

Identifying Protozoa

• 1

  Collect a sample of pond water. Smear a glass slide with some of the water and affix a cover strip over the top of the smear with Vaseline on the edges of the strip. Put the glass slide under a microscope. Magnify and focus the sample under the microscope so that individual organisms can be seen.

• 2

  Look for organisms called ciliates that are identified by the hundreds of cilia, or tendrils, surrounding the organism. Try to find ciliates vibrating their cilia to propel themselves through the water. Ciliates also use their cilia to collect food. Types of cilia include paramecium, oxytricha, dileptus, spirostorum and podophyra, which is considered the octopus of the protozoan world.

• 3

  Try to identify Mastigophora. They are flagellates that have whip-like extensions they beat or rotate to move themselves around. This is a type of protozoa known to form colonies, so there may be a group of them in one sample. Many have chloroposts they use to make food from sunlight. Types of Mastigophora include chilomonas, pandorina, gonium and chlamydomonas.

• 4

  Also look for Sarcodina, which are amoebas, or a protoplasm formed inside a single cell. Identify a Sarcodina by looking for a protoplasm that moves forward by forming a foot shape to propel itself. Some contain firm axial rods and use the rods to move about. Types of Sarcodina include amoeba proteus, arcella, entamoeba and paramoeba.