Name ___________________________________________ Hydra Lab Materials: Slide of preserved budding hydra Living specimens of hydra Conclave slides Microscopes Daphnia or fish food Prelab Questions: 1. The Hydra belongs to the Kingdom ________________________ and the Phylum _________________________________________ 2. What are cnidocytes? 3. Where do hydra live? 4. Name two other organisms that are closely related to the hydra. Hydra Tentacle at low power (10x) 5. Obtain a slide of a living hydra and observe under low power. Note that you do not have a cover slip on the slide so you should NOT use the high power objective. The hydra is visible on the slide without the microscope. Make a sketch of your hydra. 6. Because the hydra moves around on the slide, it can be difficult to get a good view of it. You will be provided with a "Preserved Hydra" slide which contains a hydra that has been fixed to the slide. This hydra is no longer living. Sketch your preserved slide below (or living hydra) and label it. Label the: Basal disk Tentacles Gastrovascular cavity (area) Cnidocytes Mouth Bud (if present) 7. Count the number of tentacles on your hydra. How many does it have? ____________ Compare this number to other hydras. Are all hydras the same? _______ 8. Hydra Behavior - Use a dissecting pin to gently touch your hydra. Describe its reaction. 9. You may also try adding fish flakes or live Daphnia to your slide to see if you can observe the hydra eating.
