Vorticella Inquiries

These vorticella were collected from a pond in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Questions:

• How does this single-celled ciliate move?

• Can you think of other types of movement that are similar to the ones you see here?

• For what reasons do you think this critter needs to move out and then rapidly pull back in?

• How does this ciliate's movement compare to other single-celled organisms?

• How are the cilia (the tiny hair-like fibers) arranged on the organism?

• Each vorticella is shaped like a sphere on a retractable tube. What is the advantage of such a shape?

• Can you find any cycles in the video? How do these cycles compare to other cycles you know about?

• What else can you find out about this critter?

Meanings:

Vorticella comes from the Greek roots: vor and cell.

vor- means: eat, consume

cell means: to rise or to project.

So, vorticella means a critter that projects itself outward to eat.

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More Information:

Go to the ciliates page for more information on these organisms.

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