Planarian Lab Report
Planarian Lab Report
Hanna Klein
Bishop Fenwick High School
Planarian Lab Report
Introduction
Planarian worms are free-living flatworms that are not parasitic. Planarians have a three-cavity digestive system. Planarians are usually either carnivorous or scavengers. Planarians may eat other living, as well as dead, invertebrates, detritus or decaying organic matter. Planarians do not realize that are eating a lot, and can over eat resulting in death. Most planarians are freshwater forms that can be found underneath dead leaves, rocks or logs. Planarians belong to the order Tricladida. Most species range from about 1/8 inch to 1 inch. There are different species which come in white, gray, black, brown and sometimes transparent. Planarians are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both female and male organs. They reproduce sexually but they cannot reproduce by fertilizing their own eggs with their sperm. Planarians can also reproduce asexually by regeneration. Planarians have become a vital model system for studying tissue regeneration and stem cell characteristics because of their quick ability to regenerate. Studying planarians will build on our current knowledge in the fields of regenerative medicine and stem cell biology. Flatworms themselves are preyed upon by a variety of predators and are intermediate levels of the food chain, so they are important because they feed other animals.
Hypothesis
All three worms were cut in half. We had expected all the planarians to regenerate. The prediction made was the planarian that was the longest, would regenerate the quickest and begin to behave normally first.
Listed materials
Seven clear petri dishes
Colored utensil to label
Purified water
Boiled eggs
Tooth picks
Flashlight
Measuring tape
Paintbrush
Knife
Procedure
1. Obtain six petri dishes
2. Put enough water into the petri dishes to cover the bottom of all six
3. Label the three dishes with the colored utensil with three names of choice
(We choose Chubbs,
Hanna Klein
Bishop Fenwick High School
Planarian Lab Report
Introduction
Planarian worms are free-living flatworms that are not parasitic. Planarians have a three-cavity digestive system. Planarians are usually either carnivorous or scavengers. Planarians may eat other living, as well as dead, invertebrates, detritus or decaying organic matter. Planarians do not realize that are eating a lot, and can over eat resulting in death. Most planarians are freshwater forms that can be found underneath dead leaves, rocks or logs. Planarians belong to the order Tricladida. Most species range from about 1/8 inch to 1 inch. There are different species which come in white, gray, black, brown and sometimes transparent. Planarians are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both female and male organs. They reproduce sexually but they cannot reproduce by fertilizing their own eggs with their sperm. Planarians can also reproduce asexually by regeneration. Planarians have become a vital model system for studying tissue regeneration and stem cell characteristics because of their quick ability to regenerate. Studying planarians will build on our current knowledge in the fields of regenerative medicine and stem cell biology. Flatworms themselves are preyed upon by a variety of predators and are intermediate levels of the food chain, so they are important because they feed other animals.
Hypothesis
All three worms were cut in half. We had expected all the planarians to regenerate. The prediction made was the planarian that was the longest, would regenerate the quickest and begin to behave normally first.
Listed materials
Seven clear petri dishes
Colored utensil to label
Purified water
Boiled eggs
Tooth picks
Flashlight
Measuring tape
Paintbrush
Knife
Procedure
1. Obtain six petri dishes
2. Put enough water into the petri dishes to cover the bottom of all six
3. Label the three dishes with the colored utensil with three names of choice
(We choose Chubbs,