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Chapter 3 Minilab

What type of symbiosis is found in a lichen?

You may have seen lichens growing on bare rock or tree bark. A lichen looks like a gray-green, orange, or yellow patchwork of spots on rocks. However, a ichen is a type or organism. In fact, it is more than one! It is a combination of a fungus and either an alga or bacterium. Algae and bacteria are (autotrophs) producers that usually exist alone. Fungi, such as mushrooms, also usually exist alone

Procedure

  1. Take a bit of lichen that your teacher provided and tease it apart with a dissecting needle.
  2. Prepare a wet mount slide of the lichen pieces.
  3. Observe the lichen under the microscope

 

Analysis

  1. Describe the appearances and size of the two kinds of organisms that make up the lichen.

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  2. How could the alga or bacterium benefit the fungus, and how could the fungus benefit the alga or bacterium?

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  3. What kind of symbiosis exists between the fungi and the alga or bacterium?

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