Primary Producers and Coastal Waters Lab
Part A - Fixed Plants
Find images of or draw examples of the following types (Divisions) of algae, and
then give a description of their characteristics that define their Division. (Unit 5 in
Lab Manual will help.)
1. Cyanophyta ( 2 examples)
2. Chlorophyta (4 examples common to New England)
3. Phaeophyta (4 examples common to New England)
4. Rhodophyta (4 examples common to New England)
Part B - Plankton - Primary Producers and Primary Consumers.
Given the samples A and B, use the compound microscope to observe and sketch
at least 12 samples of plankton. For each plankter, 1) sketch the specimen;
2) indicate which sample the specimen was taken from (A or B); 3) record the
magnification used to best observe the specimen; and, 4) hypothesize whether the
sample is phytoplankton or zooplankton.
Use the information in the lab manual on pages 107 - 120, Unit 8, and the
dichotomous key to plankton, pp.126 - 135, attempt to identify/classify the
plankton specimens that you sketched, and indicate whether they are
phytoplankton (primary producers) or zooplankton (primary consumers).