Lower Chordates Lab
Purpose
To compare and contrast the various body plans of lower chordates.
Materials
Microscope
Amphioxus and tunicate slides
Amphioxus and tunicate slides
Method
1. Use the microscope to examine and draw the Amphioxus and tunicate slides, labeling as many parts as possible.
Turnicate larva
Analysis
1. Q: How are these 2 organisms similar and different?
A: Similarities - Are motile. Have a nerve cord attatching to a simple brain. Have a notochord which acts as a spine.
Differences - Amphioxus is more advanced and larger. Amphioxus are the fully grown animal of their species, while the tunicate is a larva
2. Q: Why is Amphioxus called the classic chordate?
A: It is the only animal that has all the traits of a chordate.
3. Q: How does a tunicate larva compare to an adult tunicate?
A: The tunicate larva is the motile form of the tunicate tha it uses for species dispersal. The larva also has a notochord, and when it becomes an adult, it loses its notochord. The adult tunicate is attached to the ocean floor, similar to that of a sponge or a polyp jelly.
4. Q: Why is the Acorn worm not considered an invertibrate worm?
A: They have a circulatory system with a heart. They also have kidneys to filter the waste.
A: Similarities - Are motile. Have a nerve cord attatching to a simple brain. Have a notochord which acts as a spine.
Differences - Amphioxus is more advanced and larger. Amphioxus are the fully grown animal of their species, while the tunicate is a larva
2. Q: Why is Amphioxus called the classic chordate?
A: It is the only animal that has all the traits of a chordate.
3. Q: How does a tunicate larva compare to an adult tunicate?
A: The tunicate larva is the motile form of the tunicate tha it uses for species dispersal. The larva also has a notochord, and when it becomes an adult, it loses its notochord. The adult tunicate is attached to the ocean floor, similar to that of a sponge or a polyp jelly.
4. Q: Why is the Acorn worm not considered an invertibrate worm?
A: They have a circulatory system with a heart. They also have kidneys to filter the waste.