Upau Like the cabbage white butterfly and the WOWBug, Daphnia belong to the phylum of Jointed-limbed organisms called Arthropods, Like shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, Daphnia are members of a class of Arthropods called erus taceans. Crustaceans are characterized by an extemal skeleton, gills for gas exchange, two pairs of antennae, and numerous jointed appendages. Different species of Daphnia range in length from around 0.2 millimeters to more than 5 millimeters, Daphnia are particularly interesting animals to study because their exoskeletons, or carapaces, are transparent, This makes it easy to observe and identify their internal ongans with a hand lens or a microscope. Their hearts beat very rapidly, pumping blood throughout their bodies. ‘Their intestine, tubular in shape, extends from ‘mouth to anus. Female Daphnia have a lange brood chamber just below their heart. The brood chamber holds the female's ess. Daphnia have been called “water fleas” because they move with a jerky motion that resembles the way a flea jumps. They do this by quickly flipping their antennae downward. They control their depth in the water by adjusting the movement of their antennae ike a parachute. Daphnia can survive in almost any freshwater environment— lakes, ponds, streams, swamps, and marshes. They feed on mierascopie onganisms such as bacteria, algae, and protozoa. Daphnia propel food toward their ‘mouths using water currents that they generate with their leg aes n orooa ‘enamber ‘movements. They filter out food partictes with the bristles on their legs. Then they pass the food from the bristles to their mouths. In their lifetime, female Daphnia produce up to 400 es. Reproduction in Daphnia is unusual because the e&is develop in the female's brood chamber without being fertilized, Offspring are fully developed when they hatch. Because Daphnia reproduce so rapidly, they are an important source of food for many other onjanisms, especially fish. They provide an {important link in the food chain between the ‘microscopic onianisms upon which they prey and the larger organisms that prey upon them. O1 This Daphnia hae just eaten seme algae. How can you tll?