Large carnivorous water bearMilnesium Tardigradum

Andrew Langwell

0 Period Biology

Buchman

Statisitics

• The carnivorous water bear is about 0.5-1 millimeters in size

• They are reddish or brownish in color• Through cryptobiosis tardigrades can

survive extreme radiation, lack of oxygen, dehydration, extreme temperatures, and high and low pressures.

Habitat• The carnivorous

water bear is most commonly found in mosses and lichen but can be found all over the world from the Himilayas to the deep depths of the ocean.

Food Source

• The carnivorous water bear preys on round worms, rotifers and other small water bears.• Round worms are attacked toward the middle of their body and their insides are sucked out, or if the round worm is smaller they are swallowed whole.

Reporduction

• Most water bears reproduce through self-fertilization.

• Eggs are also found on the shed cuticle of water bears.

• Eggs usually hatch

in 30-40 days.

Human Interaction

• Water bears have been used in soil to exterminate round worms.

• Humans took water bears into outer space to test if they could survive the vacuum of space.

Interseting Facts

• Water bears can survive the vacuum of space, dehydration and don’t need oxygen. • They can also survive

up to 570,000 roentgens which is 1000x the amount of radioactivity humans can survive.

Citations• Kristensen, Reinhardt Møbjerg, and Martin Vinther Sørensen. "Tardigrada (Water Bears)." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Ed.

Michael Hutchins, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2: Protostomes. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 115-123. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 28 Apr. 2011.• http://www.bryoecol.mtu.edu/chapters_VOL2/5-2Tardigrades_Reproduction_and_Food.pdf

• Photo Credits• http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Uw8lvivtudw/SM-jlrNA2OI/AAAAAAAAAGA/JiALFx6zBk4/s320/waterbear+-2.jpg • http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/132606/350wm/C0069587-Water_bear_egg-SPL.jpg• http://www.trekmovie.com/images/sciencesaturday/0711waterbear.jpg