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Return to Model Zoom Lesson Plans |
 ZOOMplan
Brine Shrimp
(ZOOMplan developed by Dr. Ken Mechling, Clarion, Pennsylvania) |
Just over a centimeter in size, the adult brine shrimp Artemia is an
extremely well known animal because of its importance as a food
source for fish and crustaceans raised in home aquariums,
aquaculture systems, and in laboratories. One can buy brine shrimp
at practically any pet store. They look like a powdery brown
substance but in reality the substance is thousands of cysts—eggs
surrounded by protective cases. When added to water, these cysts
will hatch into shrimp nauplii within a few hours. Under
magnification, the elongated shape and eleven pairs of limbs give
this organism a shrimp like shape, but Artemia actually falls into
an order of primitive crustaceans. Various pigments from the
phytoplankton that the shrimp eats give hues of blue, green, and red
to the otherwise transparent body.
Science: Observational
investigation of the structure, behavior, and life cycle of brine
shrimp
Objective: Using DigiScope technology, MAIS elementary and
middle school students will observe, describe, measure, and report
on the structures, behavior, and life cycle of Artemia.
Concepts:
Structure and function in living systems, regulation and behavior,
diversity, adaptation and life cycles of organisms
Processes:
Observing, inferring, measuring, communicating, predicting,
collecting, displaying and interpreting data
Project AERO Standards:
The Living Environment # 16 Students will understand the structure,
functions, and reproduction of living cells and organisms. Inquiry #
2 Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.
Technology # 3 Students will gather, analyze, interpret, synthesize,
apply, and communicate information and designs using technological
tools. Mathematics # 7 Students will estimate and measure to a
required degree of accuracy and precision by selecting and using
appropriate units, tools, and technologies.
Materials: Artemia
(“eggs”), sea salt, well slides and cover slips, droppers, 2 liter
plastic soda bottles, cotton fibers, baking soda,
DigiScopes
Procedure:
1. Secure brine shrimp “eggs” or dehydrated
cysts.
2. Obtain two liter soda bottles. Cut off the tops and fill
with tap water aged for several days. These make great hatching
containers. To each bottle filled with water add 10 to 20 grams of
sea salt and a pinch of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Stir. Now
add a pinch of Artemia cysts to each bottle. After 15 or 20 hours at
25 degrees C (77 degrees F), the cysts burst and the embryo leaves
the shell. For the first few hours, the embryo hangs beneath the
cyst shell, still enclosed in the hatching membrane. The embryo will
grow and progress through 15 molts before reaching adulthood in
approximately 8 days. Adult Artemia average about 8 mm long, but can
reach lengths of 20 mm under ideal conditions.
3. Feeding the brine
shrimp is necessary, if the culture is to be used for several days.
A solution of baker's yeast and water to form a milky solution is an
ideal food for the growing brine shrimp. The brine shrimp culture
only needs a few drops of the yeast solution as they are not big
eaters and overfeeding can foul the culture. The yeast solution can
be placed in a dropper bottle and stored in a refrigerator.
4. When Artemia hatch have the students place a few cotton strands across
the well of the slide (the fibers will trap and prevent them from
swimming out of view). Use droppers to obtain Artemia specimens,
together with a small amount of water. Cover the slide with a cover
glass.
5. Observe the Artemia under different magnifications. Have the
students observe and describe the structures, movement and life
stages of Artemia. They may want to make an illustrated booklet or
PowerPoint presentation of what they have observed.
6. Remove the
eyepiece from the DigiScope and insert the camera in its place. Now
go to the main menu page of Motic Play and click the capture button.
Adjust the DigiScope until you have a clear image in the window,
then click the Capture button. Print the image by clicking on the
Jump to Edit button. When in the editing window, click the Print
button. You can create a video of Artemia movement for a specific
time limit by clicking on the time setting button on the Capture
Menu.
7. To set the time limit, click on the 15 button on the panel or
click and move the slider to 15 seconds. Next click on the Record
Video button on the Capture Menu. The Name File box will appear at
the top of the image window. After you type in the name for the
video, click and drag the Name File box to the side so that the
image window can be seen.
8. When you are ready to begin the video of Artemia’s movements, click Open and quickly click OK to begin
recording. After 15 seconds, the video will automatically stop.
Replay the video for multiple viewings and data recording.
Additional videos can be recorded of Artemia hatching sequences in
various stages of its life history.
References:
Duerr, Christine,
Brine Shrimp, Rhode Island Sea Grant fact Sheet, Narragansett, RI,
2005.
Norden, Beth B. and Lynette Ruschak, Magnification, Lodestar
Books, New York, 1993.
Ross, Michael Elsohn, The World of Small,
Yosemite Association, California, 1993.
Snedden, Robert, Yuck! A Big
Book of Little Horrors, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1996
Stewart, Kimberlee, K-8 Experiment Manual, Science Kit & Boreal Laboratories
& Motic Incorporation Limited, 2002. |
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