In this lab, we explored the symbiotic relationship between a termite and protozoa.
What is a symbiotic relationship, you may ask? A symbiotic relationship is when two different species work together and benefit from eachother. How do termites benefit from protozoa and vice versa? When a termite eats wood, the protozoa gets food. They also get shelter by living in the termite's gut. The termite gets energy from the acetate the protozoa produces.
When we studied this in the lab, we had to have a live termite to start with. To get the protozoa out of the gut, we needed to grab the very end of the termite as well as the thorax. (The thorax is the section between the head and abdomen of an insect) With special tweezers, we pulled the end of the termite gently so the guts would come out. They were unusually long and stringy.
After we did that, we got a slide and distilled water to put the guts in. When that was done, it was time to look at them through the slide! They seemed to have hair around them and they were moving around a lot, not to mention they were all different sizes. There were also a lot of them - they must be very small for so many of them to fit into a tiny termite gut! I personally learned a lot by watching these little creatures under a microscope. It made me see how complex life can be, all the way down to a tiny, one celled organism.
Thank you to the group I stole the pictures from, btw. If you want credit for them, let me know.
Lindsey
What is a symbiotic relationship, you may ask? A symbiotic relationship is when two different species work together and benefit from eachother. How do termites benefit from protozoa and vice versa? When a termite eats wood, the protozoa gets food. They also get shelter by living in the termite's gut. The termite gets energy from the acetate the protozoa produces.
When we studied this in the lab, we had to have a live termite to start with. To get the protozoa out of the gut, we needed to grab the very end of the termite as well as the thorax. (The thorax is the section between the head and abdomen of an insect) With special tweezers, we pulled the end of the termite gently so the guts would come out. They were unusually long and stringy.
After we did that, we got a slide and distilled water to put the guts in. When that was done, it was time to look at them through the slide! They seemed to have hair around them and they were moving around a lot, not to mention they were all different sizes. There were also a lot of them - they must be very small for so many of them to fit into a tiny termite gut! I personally learned a lot by watching these little creatures under a microscope. It made me see how complex life can be, all the way down to a tiny, one celled organism.
Thank you to the group I stole the pictures from, btw. If you want credit for them, let me know.
Lindsey
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