Daphnia Magna biomonitoring

Daphnia magna is a small planktonic crustacean found in freshwater environments that is emerging as model for biomonitoring because its biological responses are very similar to those of humans. The Anatomy students introduced these water fleas to a variety of stimuli and monitored changes in their heart rates to see if they would respond in the same way one would expect a human to respond.  Because of their translucent chitinous exoskeleton, they could observe the Daphnia’s heart beating under a microscope. The students observed what changing the temperature would do to the Daphnia’s heart rate, and well as exposing it to acetylcholine and caffeine.