In this experiment, we worked with tetrahymena thermophila. Tetrahymena are unicellular ciliates that feed on bacteria. They can reproduce sexually and asexually. They use cilia to sweep their food into the cells oral groove. (Bozzone, 1998, p. 347) For our experiment our decided to see what different volumes of serotonin would do to the feeding habits of the tetrahymena. The hypothesis we came up with for the experiment is: If we add increasing volumes of serotonin to samples of tetrahymena, then the rate of consumption of the tetrahymena will increase. We decided that this hypothesis was justified because the serotonin increases phagocytosis. (Quinones-Maldonado and Renaud, 1987, p. 435) Phagocytosis is the taking up bacteria or other materials. We believe this means that the consumption of the tetrahymena with more serotonin will have a higher consumption rate.
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