sarka's Identifications

Asymmetrical aquatic unicellular organism with horn-like structures. I can assume that it is a photosynthetic organism due to its color.

Observation was made under microscope with 100x magnification. Water sample was obtained from Castor pond (USF Tampa).

Reference: http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=43626&sk=0

Microscopic. A circular middle and pointy "arms" coming from it. Bright green color. The unique shape leads
me to believe this is a ceratium, which is a type of protist. https://www.britannica.com/science/Ceratium
Observed in a biology lab at the University of South Florida under a microscope. Found in marine environments all over the world.

This protist was seen on 02/04/2019 at the University of South Florida in the biology laboratory using a compound microscope. This organism was found in a pond, meaning its habitat is aquatic and freshwater. This is a dinoflagellate, identified by the unique flagella and body shape. This organism is microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye. This organism was green under the microscope. Using the tree of life web project webpage, I was able to compare pictures and characteristic similarities such as the two flagella and green color, making the organism most likely photosynthetic. These organisms can be found in many fresh water samples, making their geographic distribution in Florida relatively high. They also cause red tide which is a major environmental issue right now in Florida.

This dinoflagellate belongs under the kingdom Protista. They have a unique shape and range in size from 5-2,000 micrometers. A defining characteristic that dinoflagellates have is that they have two perpendicular flagella. Under the slide, they are a light brown color. This observation was made in an urban habitat, specifically in a lab setting. The sample of dinoflagellates were found at the University of South Florida in Castor beach in an area where there was no shade (this habitat is a freshwater pond but continues to also be an urban habitat because of its location). The geographic distribution of dinoflagellates is usually in saltwater areas, but can also be found in freshwater. This observation was made on February 4th,2019 at 7:24 pm.

These organisms have 3 pointed edges, are only a few micrometers in length, have a greenish-yellow color with some clear areas, and primarily reproduce via asexual reproduction by mitosis to split into 2 cells from 1 cell. These observed organisms each have 2 antapical horns and 1 apical horn. Habitat includes aquatic environments such as freshwater and marine environments. Geographically distributed all over the world.
Reference: https://www.britannica.com/science/dinoflagellate

Ceratium is about 5-50um in width and 70-500um in length. Has two horns and a long flagellum, swimming around in circles. Was found at 5:29 PM on February 5, 2019. The temperature was about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This sample was taken from castor beach.

Classified under Kingdom Protist, order Gonyaulacales, family Ceratiaceae.

http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/PhytoGallery/Dinoflagellates/ceratium.html

Visual Description: Viewed under a compound microscope at 400x. Green-yellow in color with red and yellow circular structures within the slightly transparent organism. Composed of two cell places with a visible grove about halfway down the organism.

Habitat: Disturbed freshwater habitat. Found in a freshwater pond in a well lit area close to a maintained sandy beach.

Reference(s):
AlgaeBase: http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=43626

organism was collected in a pond that received a lot of sunlight by one of the dormitories on the University of South Florida campus. The microscope used had the organism magnified to 400x. It was collected the week prior to when it was observed on the microscope.

Supplementary Videos
1) https://drive.google.com/open?id=1E5Blc4MXtIwSXocR8OHIx2jH3bcsQRno
2) https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kAv-EzqmJflQaDaUzkp_pRyRwcCPQEwI

Pictures were either 400x or 1000x magnification under a light microscope and from a pond sample from a light-exposed area on the University of South Florida campus. The following species is in the genus of Ceratium with its common characteristics of hollow horns and depressed ventral area.
This species of Ceratium (see videos) include a long apical horn and unequal antapical horns.

Likely might it be specifically C. hirundinella, a freshwater species, according to the second link provided and due to it being obtained from freshwater sources and also pale yellow. The fourth link suggests that the species might be either C. lineatum or C. kofoidii.

http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/PhytoGallery/Dinoflagellates/ceratium.html
http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/PhytoGallery/Freshwater/Ceratium.html
https://phytoplanktonguide.lumcon.edu/display/
https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=5543575cf079ed77408b4582&assetKey=AS%3A273768600014849%401442282928872