Tetrahymena thermophila population growth under salt stress

Abstract

Substances such as salt can have adverse effects on a range of organisms. We were interested in demonstrating possible toxic effects by observing population differences in the fresh water species, Tetrahymena thermophila We counted cells, which were in varying salt concentrations, every two hours (doubling time of T. thermophila) Our results suggest that increasing concentrations of salt in the environment decreases the population of T. thermophila. At a higher concentration (1.20%) salt, populations decrease at a faster rate, but soon follow the trend of the lesser concentrated samples. We determined that salt does in fact have a detrimental effect on T. thermophila populations; more so at higher concentrations until a toxic concentration is reached.