Protista/fungi

Protista/Fungi Research Report
Name
Institution
Date

Protista/Fungi Research Report
Amoeba Proteus
The name Amoeba Proteus was derived from the Greek words; Amoeba meaning to change, and the Greek word Proteus which is the Greek Sea God. This means that just like the Sea God, Amoeba Proteus always changes its shape in order to move CITATION Mar001 l 1033 (Marshall Cavendish , 2000). Amoeba Proteus does this by extending its Pseudopodia or tiny extensions and the fluid in the Amoeba Proteus then flow into the Pseudopodia thus making the entire organism move in the direction of the Pseudopodia CITATION Amo15 l 1033 (Amoeba , 2015).
Importance of the Species
Amoeba Proteus is not harmful to humans like other Protista and thus, need no cure. Amoeba Proteus is not capable of causing any diseases on its own but it acts as a host of diseases causing pathogens. As a matter of fact, Amoeba Proteus is used in medical biology to teach cell biology and in biological research studies. This can be attributed to their fairly large size of Amoeba Proteus that can be seen both by the naked eye and using the microscope to see the cell organelles inside the Amoeba Proteus.
Amoeba Proteus is found in fresh water bodies with high oxygen supply. It also inhabits large food webs mainly with algae or plants. It mostly dwells in moist habitats and under anything that provides shelter from light because of its adversity to light CITATION Kwa12 l 1033 (Jeon, 2012). It is also found under decomposing vegetation found in fresh water where it seeks shelter from light and finds food from the dead vegetation CITATION Amo151 l 1033 (Amoeba Proteus , 2015).

Unlike other species, Amoeba Proteus is different because it does not have a definite shape and keeps on changing its shape as it moves. In addition, the Amoeba Proteus stands out because of its large size that is close to that of the ‘giant amoeba’ and because of the fact that it is visible to the human eye. The pseudopodia also make the Amoeba Proteus different from other species. Pseudopodia are the amoeba’s “false feet”that are used for movement and in engulfing food or prey. Amoeba Proteus is also different from other species of its kind because it does not have an outer covering, unlike other amoeba which have hard outer shells or make outer cases using tiny grains of sand CITATION Mar001 l 1033 (Marshall Cavendish , 2000).
Because of its relatively large size, Amoeba Proteus can be observed using the microscope and even by the naked human eye. Consequently, it is used mostly in classroom observations and in testing dyes as its color can be changed using different dyes CITATION Kwa12 l 1033 (Jeon, 2012).
Amoeba Proteus was discovered by August Johann Rosel von in 1755 and it was first named “Der Kleine Proteus” meaning the little Proteus. Unlike other microorganisms or amoeba. Amoeba Proteus does not cause any diseases and does not infect human beings. It is found in fresh water bodies where it feeds on dead fungi and uses up oxygen. Due to the fact that Amoeba Proteus is not infectious, there is no need and no cure for the microorganism. The result of the tests performed on Amoeba Proteus show that it does not possess a fixed shape, it dwells in water, avoids light and dwells in moist habitats with abundance of oxygen. Amoeba Proteus also feed on dead organic matter hence helping in the decomposition of the dead organic matter and continuing the foodweb. They also consume bacteria and ensure the regeneration of nutrients that are needed by humans and other animals in the world CITATION Str15 l 1033 (Structure and Functions , 2015).
In water bodies, the control the growth of algae thus ensuring that there is no overgrowth of algae in water, which would otherwise grow uncontrollably in water and causing the development of dead zones. Their decomposition of algae in the water explains the reason Amoeba Proteus need high quantities of oxygen as it takes large quantities of oxygen to decompose dead algae CITATION Kwa12 l 1033 (Jeon, 2012).

References
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Amoeba. (2015, June 13). Retrieved from Science Clarified : http://www.scienceclarified.com/Al-As/Amoeba.html#
Amoeba Proteus. (2015, June 13). Retrieved from Microbus: http://www.microscope-microscope.org/applications/pond-critters/protozoans/sarcodina/amoeba-proteus.htm
Jeon, K. (2012). The Biology of Amoeba. New York: Elsevier.
Marshall Cavendish. (2000). Exploring Life Science. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
Structure and Functions. (2015, June 13). Retrieved from Amoeba Proteus: https://davidwangblog.wordpress.com/structure-and-functions/