Dr. Chaibi's Lab Practical

Common Duckweed (Lemna)

Floating macrophyte;

tiny frond with one root;

lentic systems

Watermeal (Wolffia)

Floating macrophyte;

smallest angiosperm, tiny bright green, without roots, fronds in pairs;

lentic systems

Water Fern (Azolla)

Floating macrophyte;

small reddish fern, contains symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria;

lentic systems

American lotus (Nelumbo lutea)

Floating macrophyte;

very large broad circular leaves, solitary pale yellow flower, dried seed pods;

lentic systems

Water Shield (Brasenia schreberi)

Floating macrophyte;

floating circular leaves with green upper and purple under, purplish roots and creeping stems with gelatinous coating;

lentic littoral areas

Cow Lily, Spatterdock (Nuphar lutea)

Floating macrophyte;

ovate shiny leaves with lateral veins, solitary yellow flower;

lentic systems < 5ft in depth

Waterlily (Nymphaeae)

Floating macrophyte;

circular leaves with cleft at base and fanlike leaf veins, solitary white or pink/purple flower;

lentic systems

Coontail Ceratophyllum)

Submerged macrophyte;

olive to dark-green, branched stems, no roots, leaves divided into multiple narrow segments;

lentic systems, can be extremely abundant

Southern Naiad, Bushy Pondweed (Naja)

Submerged macrophyte;

slender with linear greenish-purple leaves;

lotic or lentic systems, very common in ponds

Bladderwort (Ultricularia)

Submerged macrophyte;

rootless, threadlike leaves with bladders that trap small invertebrates and fish, small clustered yellow or purple flowers that extend above water;

lentic systems, especially ponds and lakes

Pondweed (Potamogeton)

Submerged macrophyte;

submerged floating elliptical leaves with variable shape depending on species, seeds on cylindrical spikes extending above water;

lentic and lotic systems

Cabomba, Fanwort (Cabomba)

Submerged macrophyte;

leaves opposite or whorled, floating leaves look different from submerged leaves;

lentic systems

Eel-grass, Tape Grass (Vallisneria americana)

Submerged macrophyte;

dark-green, ribbon-like leaves that are several feet long;

lakes, swift-flowing spring-fed streams, coastal areas

Bulrush (Scirpus)

Emergent macrophyte;

triangular or round stems up to 6 feet tall, fruit in terminal spikelet in drooping cluster;

mud banks, standing water

Cattail (Typha)

Emergent macrophyte;

elongated flat leaves up to 10 feet tall, thickened cylindrical seed spikes;

saturated soil and in water

Spike Rush (Eleocharis)

Emergent macrophyte;

slender segmented stems up to 8 feet tall, dark-brown scaly lance-shaped spikelet at tip, grows in clusters;

mud, shallow water

Soft Rush (Juncus effusus)

Emergent macrophyte;

pale-green hollow stems up to 3 feet tall, flowers grouped near tip of stem;

grows in clumps along shorelines dry or wet

Flat Sedge (Cyperus)

Emergent macrophyte;

triangular stem up to 2 feet tall, large golden-brown seed heads located on stem terminus;

wetlands and marshes

Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata)

Emergent macrophyte;

ovate/heart-shaped leaves with shape variation, blue-purple flowers clustered on elongated terminal spikes;

lentic systems along shorelines

Water Primrose (Ludwigia)

Emergent macrophyte;

lance-shaped hairy leaves, small yellow flower;

floating in water or upright on dry land, lentic systems

Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)

Emergent macrophyte;

arrowhead-shaped leaves, stout stem 3 feet tall, small white flowers in whorls;

shallow water areas

Smartweed (Persicaria, formerly Polygonum)

Emergent macrophyte;

sparse thin leaves, creeping rhizomes, hairy stems with swollen nodes, small pinkish-white flowers;

lentic systems like wetlands, streams, lakes, ditches

Cladophora

Green algae;

branched filaments;

stream periphyton that structures benthic communities

Rhizoclonium

Green algae;

coarse, wiry, unbranched filaments with holdfast;

fast-moving waters, hard waters

Pithophora

Green algae;

branched filaments with akinetes, can form floating mats;

common in ponds in warm temperatures

Basicladia

Green algae;

filaments;

specializes in living on turtles

Chlorella

Green algae;

small, unicellular spheres, cryptic speciation;

common in freshwater

Chlamydomonas

Green algae;

unicellular with two flagella;

planktic in hard and soft freshwater lakes

Volvox

Green algae;

spherical colony of genetically-determined number of individual cells, coordinate movement by flegella, grow new colonies inside;

planktic in hard and soft freshwater lakes

Scenedesmus

Green algae;

unicellular or in small colonies, with or without terminal spines;

freshwater streams

Pediastrum

Green algae;

flattened star-shaped colony with genetically determined number of cells;

planktic in streams

Hydrodicton

Green algae;

name means 'water net' because flat, net-like colony;

planktic in streams and lakes

Spirogyra

Green algae;

unbranched filament, spiral chloroplasts;

common in littoral zones of ponds, ditches, slow streams

Mougeotia

Green algae;

unbranched filament with flat rectangular chloroplasts that can twist and rotate;

common in ponds, littoral zones of lakes, slow streams

Closterium

Green algae;

thick clear carbohydrate cell wall, one large chloroplast in two lobes with nucleus in center;

drying mud, oligotrophic and dystrophic lakes, stream periphyton, waterfalls

Chara

Green algae;

looks plant-like with stem and radial extensions that resemble whorls, but is smaller than a macrophyte and has distinctive reproductive structures, precipitates calcium carbonate so can look grey and crunchy;

common in lakes and slow streams, important fish nursery habitat

Chrysophyte

Golden algae;

cell wall composed of silica scales, forms spherical cyst with a pore in harsh conditions;

common in lakes, especially alpine

Synura

Golden algae;

colony of flagellated unicells that can move;

planktic in deeper water column in lakes and streams

Dinobryon

Golden algae;

colonial, each cell builds its own cup-like theca and beats flagella to filter-feed nutrients;

benthic, connects to substrates

Prymnesium parvum

Golden algae;

unicell with two flagella, one short and one long;

lakes with moderate to high salinity, can cause toxic algal blooms (golden blooms), may be non-native in Texas

Centric Diatom

Diatom, golden-brown algae;

silica cell wall, radial symmetry, unicellular or colonial in filaments;

planktic and common in lakes

Araphid Pennate Diatom

Diatom, golden-brown algae;

silica cell wall, bilaterial symmetry on both axes, unicellular or colonial;

tychoplanktic in turbulent waters and at thermoclines

Symmetrical Raphid Diatom

Diatom, golden-brown algae;

silica cell wall, bilaterial symmetry on both axes, unicellular or colonial; raphe for movement;

benthic and common in streams, wetlands, lake littoral zones

Assymetrical Raphid Diatom

Diatom, golden-brown algae;

silica cell wall, bilaterial symmetry along only one axis, unicellular or colonial in mucilage tubes or stalks;

benthic and common in streams, wetlands, lake littoral zones

Isopoda

relatives of sowbugs, rigid segmented exoskeletons, flattened dorsoventrally, found in leaves and under stones in rivers, lakes, and temporary ponds

Amphipoda (scud - sideswimmer)

Common names "scud" or "sideswimmer," move horizontally on their side, rounded posterior, pair of strong stubby legs used for motion, found in stream bottoms, lake littoral and benthic zones

Artemia (brine shrimp)

Member of Amphipoda; common in hypersaline lakes; pinkish or reddish color; form resting stages in poor conditions, used as food in fish farming; sea monkeys

Shrimp (Decapoda)

glass/ghost shrimp; river shrimp; not well studied, some species critically endangered

Crayfish (Decapoda)

ecosystem engineers due to tunnel building; beginning to go extinct due to invasive competitors, overharvesting, declining water quality and habitat

Gilled operculate snails

When held with helix pointing upwards, shell opens to right; breathe through gills, gills = good water quality

Pouched/Lunged snails

When held with helix pointing upwards, shell opens to left; breathe using lungs (or sometimes left-handed gilled snails); pouches = poor water quality

Freshwater mussels

bivalves (two shells) with muscular foot; filter feed; many endangered due to water quality impairment, loss of flowing water and increased turbidity, barrier to fish movement (hosts to parasitic glochidia offspring); invasive competitors

Mayfly (nymph)

nymph has 2-3 tails, gills along abdomen; live under rocks, in decaying vegetation, in sediments; presence indicates good water quality

Dragonfly (nymph)

Nymph has bulbous abdomen with 2 tail stubs, spindly legs, bulbous eyes; major predator - nymph predates upon zooplankton and young fish, adult predates upon midges and mosquitoes

Damselfly (nymph)

nymph has 3 gills at tail end, 2-3 tails that can look feathery; predator of insects; indicates good water quality in wide variety of water bodies

Stonefly (nymph)

Nymph has 2 tails, gills in "armpits," can have bold stripe patter; live in benthic zone of well-oxygenated streams and lakes, indicate excellent water quality

Caddisfly (larvae)

larvae build protective cases of sediment or debris and make nets to catch food; predators, shredders, grazers, filterers; live in still/calm waters; indicate good water quality

Alderfly (larvae)

Larva has 1 tail, strong sharp mandibles, light-colored; larval habitats are species specific; as a group, wide range of tolerance in water quality

Dobsonfly (larvae)

Larva has 2 tail stubs, spiky appearance, prominent mandibles, gills and spiracles; live under rocks in swift areas of large streams; predators of insects and small fish

Gerridae (water strider)

live on water surface; predatory on insects that fall in water and cannibalistic

Veliidae (riffle bug)

live on water surface; smaller and broader-shouldered than water striders; predatory

Notonectidae (backswimmer)

long back legs; swim upside down with hindlegs in backstroke; predatory on tadpoles and small fish; live in lakes, ponds, marshes

Corixidae (water boatmen)

forelegs adapted like oars; swim upright just above sediment surface; predators; live in ponds, slow streams

Water penny (beetle larvae)

small, low-profile, suction cup look; common on underside of stones near water surface; indicate good water quality

Diving beetle

have gills or elytra cavity (air bubble under abdomen), might have feathery back legs; herbivores, scavengers, predators

Whirligig beetle

two sets of eyes, one above waterline and one below water; live at water surface; named for distinctive whirling swimming motion

Chironomidae (non-biting midges, larvae)

Larvae have segmented body with stubby limbs at anterior-most and posterior-most segments; head capsule most useful for identification; herbivores or predators; benthic, sensitive to temperature and oxygen conditions

Chaoborus (glass worm)

Diptera midge; larva has large hooked jaws and fanned tail; larvae is major predator upon zooplankton and other aquatic insect larvae, common in ecology studies

Rotifer (Rotifera)

microscopic, multicellular animal with transparent soft bodies; simple body plan of body cavity with large stomach, foot, cilia-lined mouth (corona); omnivorous filter feeder or predator, corona shape specialized to food source; can be anchored to substrate or free swimming; common and abundant in various aquatic habitats

Daphnia (Cladocera)

micro-crustacean with unsegmented body, carapace covers back, head angled downward, one compound eye and one eyespot, two pairs of antennae with second pair adapted for swimming; Daphnia commonly found in limnetic habitats; herbivorous

Chydorus (Cladocera)

micro-crustacean with unsegmented body, carapace covers back, head angled downward, one compound eye and one eyespot, two pairs of antennae with second pair adapted for swimming; Chydorus commonly found in littoral habitats; herbivorous

Bosmina (Cladocera)

micro-crustacean with unsegmented body, carapace covers back, head angled downward, one compound eye and one eyespot, two pairs of antennae with second pair adapted for swimming; Bosmina commonly found in littoral habitats; herbivorous

Copepod (Copepoda)

micro-crustacean with teardrop-shaped body, very long first antennae, transparent exoskeleton, one compound eye often red in color, rear appendance have setae ("oar feet"), males can have bent antennae, females can have two exterior egg sacs attached to body

Ostracod (Ostracoda)

micro-crustacean with 2 hinged valves (but not a bivalve), unsegmented bodies, compound eye located near dorsal hinge of valves; littoral and benthic habitats; herbivores or omniovres