Bidiversity lab midterm

Water mold

filamentous, fungus‑like organism found in aquatic or moist environments; resembles fungi but has cellulose cell walls

Slime mold

brightly colored, amoeba‑like organism that moves as a plasmodium on decaying logs

Lichen

symbiotic partnership between a fungus and algae or cyanobacteria

Crustose lichen

flat, crust‑like lichen tightly attached to a surface

Foliose lichen

leafy, lobed lichen with distinct layers

Fruticose lichen

shrubby, branching lichen with hair‑like structures

Basidiomycota

club fungi including mushrooms, puffballs, and shelf fungi

Ascomycota

sac fungi including cup fungi, yeasts, and morels

Zygomycota

zygote fungi such as Rhizopus with black sporangia

Deuteromycota

imperfect fungi lacking a known sexual reproductive stage

Rhizopus stolonifer

black bread mold with dark sporangia on white hyphae

Absorptive heterotroph

organism that digests externally and absorbs nutrients from the environment

Anther

flower structure that produces pollen

Stomata

pores on leaf surfaces that regulate gas exchange and water loss

Guard cells

curved cells that open and close stomata

Xylem

vascular tissue that transports water and minerals upward

Phloem

vascular tissue that transports sugars and organic compounds

Vascular bundle

cluster of xylem and phloem tissues in stems or leaves

Pollination

transfer of pollen to the female reproductive structure

Rhizoids

root‑like anchoring structures in nonvascular plants

Microspore

spore that develops into a male gametophyte

Megaspore

spore that develops into a female gametophyte

Gymnosperm

plant producing naked seeds, typically in cones

Angiosperm

flowering plant that undergoes double fertilization

Total magnification

ocular magnification multiplied by objective magnification

Working distance

space between objective lens and specimen, decreases with higher magnification

Field of view

visible area under the microscope, decreases with higher magnification

Compound microscope

high‑magnification microscope for thin specimens using transmitted light

Dissecting microscope

low‑magnification microscope for 3D objects using reflected light

Anabaena

bead‑like cyanobacteria with possible heterocysts

Oscillatoria

filamentous cyanobacteria with rectangular cells and no heterocysts

Crystal violet

first stain applied in Gram staining

Gram‑negative

bacteria that stain pink due to thin peptidoglycan layer

Coccus

spherical bacterial shape

Bacillus

rod‑shaped bacterial form

Spirillum

spiral‑shaped bacterial form

Zone of inhibition

clear area around an antimicrobial disk indicating effectiveness

Bacterial colony

visible cluster originating from a single parent cell

Sargassum

brown algae belonging to Phaeophyta

Fucoxanthin

pigment giving brown algae their characteristic color

Dinoflagellate

protist responsible for red tides, with two flagella

Diatom

protist with silica shells forming diatomaceous earth

Trypanosoma brucei

parasite causing African sleeping sickness

Radiolaria

protists with intricate silica skeletons

Amoeba proteus

blob‑like protist with pseudopodia for movement

Volvox

colonial green alga forming spherical colonies

Spirogyra

filamentous green alga with spiral chloroplasts

Euglena

protist with plant‑like chloroplasts and animal‑like movement

Paramecium

ciliated protist with an oval shape

Plasmodium

parasite responsible for malaria, found inside red blood cells

Foraminifera

protists producing calcium carbonate shells called tests

Ulva

green alga commonly known as sea lettuce

Agardhiella

red alga with branching structure

Fiddlehead

young coiled fern frond

Sorus

cluster of sporangia on the underside of fern leaves

Pterophyta

whisk ferns lacking true leaves

Sphenophyta

horsetails with jointed stems

Lycophyta

club mosses with cone‑like strobili

Bryophyta

mosses with leafy gametophytes

Hepatophyta

liverworts with flat, lobed bodies

Rhizome

horizontal underground stem

Seta

stalk supporting the moss capsule

Caulid

stem‑like structure in bryophytes

Antheridium

male reproductive structure producing sperm

Archegonium

female reproductive structure producing eggs

Gemma cup

liverwort structure enabling asexual reproduction

Protonema

early filamentous stage of moss development

Gametophyte

haploid generation producing gametes

Heterospory

production of two spore types: microspores and megaspores

Monocot

plant with parallel veins and flower parts in multiples of three

Dicot

plant with netted veins and flower parts in multiples of four or five

Berry

fleshy fruit with seeds embedded throughout

Pome

fruit with a central core containing seeds

Coniferophyta

gymnosperm division including conifers

Cycadophyta

gymnosperm division including palm‑like cycads

Ginkgophyta

gymnosperm division containing Ginkgo

Gnetophyta

gymnosperm division including Gnetum and relativ