Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from A Quantitative Study of the Response in Amoeba to Sudden Increase in Illumination
Since its discovery in 1775 by Rosel v. Rosenhof amoeboid motion has been a never-failing source of interest and speculation. Engelmann ('79) was the first to note the effect of a sudden increase in illumination. on an amoeboid organism. He maintains that the pseudopod of a Pelomyxa contracts when exposed to a beam of light and that locomotion ceases. Davenport ('97) asserts that Amoeba proteus is negative to light, moving away from the source of illumination in a horizontal beam. Both Davenport and Verworn ('89) failed to obtain a response when an amoeba was allowed to move from a dark into an illuminated field. Harrington and Leaming ('00) maintain that A. proteus responds to a sudden increase in intensity by a temporary cessation of movement. They also state that the shorter wave-lengths of light are more effective in inducing a response that the longer. Mast ('10) found that orientation in amoeba results from the cessation of pseudopods on the more highly illuminated side. He observed that when an amoeba reaches the edge of a beam of light placed in its path it stops and reverses the direction; and he is of the opinion that the time required to reverse decreases with experience.
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