No Title Essay

Submitted By ilaynag123
Words: 319
Pages: 2

Daphnia, small crustaceans, also known as water fleas, are found in fresh water environments. These kidney shaped organisms are single-eyed with a double-branched antennae and leaf-life limbs inside a carapace. The carapace covers their body and is used to hold newborns and eggs. Daphnia reproduce through parthenogenesis, an asexual reproduction not requiring fertilization, and have varying lifespans from about forty to fifty days.
Daphnia have been tested in various bioassays using salt concentrations, caffeine, pH levels, and energy drinks. Bioassays are the measurement of a certain substance and its effect on a living organism. Research and experimentation involving Daphnia is suitable due to their transparent carapace, being able to reproduce quickly, being inexpensive while caring for them, and being able to be studied and observed under a microscope. Due to their size of 3mm to 5mm, Daphnia can be placed in slides and viewed under microscopes. The transparent carapace allows for the heartbeat of Daphnia to be easily viewed, which allows for the different experiments to be performed. “Chapter 10 Experiments with Daphnia and Parasites” by Dieter Ebert, describes how Daphnia can be used in various experiments. Ebert describes the advantages of using this system of experimentation such as their genetic material being able to be stored for long periods of time, their quick reproduction time due to parthenogenesis, and the allowance of no mutations or infections to be