Bipolar Son
This unicellular organism lives on the surface of the water and on bed of Zone 29. It has two generational stages. One generation is photosynthetic and float on the surface while the other generation is lithotrophic and rests on on the bed of the channel.
The cells of the photosynthetic generation reaches 50μm. It obtains it energy from photosynthesis using yellow pigments. The cell has a membrane, four sets of three flagella on the sides of the cell, four flagella on the underside of the cell, cilia covered in microvilli, a nucleus, a vacuole, ribosomes, and photosynthetic organelles.
The vacuole is used to store gases, mainly oxygen, to help the cell reduce its density and float at the surface. The flagella are used to right the cell if it does get swept under the surface. The cilia, located on the underside of the cell, are used to catch and gather minerals from the water. The flagella on the underside help the cilia collect minerals and nutrients from the water by flagellating and forcing water to move over the cilia. Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere for photosynthesis.
The cell begins to store nutrients in the vacuole and releases oxygen. It always itself to become more dense and sink. Once it is below the surface it will begin to use the stored nutrients and divide, it will do this once or twice a day. The new cell it forms will be a lithotrophic cell. The photosynthetic organelles are retained in the parent cell which remains photosynthetic while the lithotrophic cell receives none. The lithotrophic cell will swim to the bottom of the channel and absorb reduced inorganic compounds.
The lithotrophic cell is 70μm. It has has a membrane, four sets of three flagella on the sides of the cell, cilia covered in microvilli all over the cell, a nucleus, a smaller vacuole, and ribosomes. These cells lack photosynthetic organelles.The lithotrophic cell mines ammonia from the waste products of aquatic muscals. Once enough nutrients have been absorbed the lithotrophic cell will form a photosynthetic organelle and divide. The newly formed cell will have the photosynthetic organelle. The lithotrophic cells will do this once per day.
