MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

The biologically processed matter in this biofilm has formed a thick soup. I'm seeing a lot of very small protists mixing with medium-sized ones. This is on top of the water in the jar where floating biofilm is most dense, like a sticky layer. An interesting thing is that the densest material is als...

The biologically processed matter in this biofilm has formed a thick soup. I'm seeing a lot of very small protists mixing with medium-sized ones. This is on top of the water in the jar where floating biofilm is most dense, like a sticky layer. An interesting thing is that the densest material is als...

I love your photos. Your practice is probably much like mine. A year ago I had to move because my friends with whom I live decided to move to a better apartment. I am just rebuilding my life on a slightly smaller scale. I used to rent a larger basement space but had to move to a smaller (but nicer) ...

If many ciliates are getting nutrition from just absorbing protein from the medium--the biofilm, why do they have to move around?

Through the fog of memory, I still see the outline of an ordinary story I am not afraid to tell. But I am at the edge of strangeness. Is it a variation of a safe and ordinary story just wrapped in fear or is it another world? I am uttering goodbye to things I used to trust even as I grip the walls a...

It's wonderful to be part of a community that plays with nature. I feel so good to be part of a curious bunch of people. I will say I have had some much more diverse biomes in past years. I have been doing this for a a long time. I recently moved to a different neighborhood in Winnipeg. I had to sta...

This is not simple and humble. A piece of salad half the size of a pinky nail is a delicate masterpiece that nobody ever invented.

https://youtu.be/YttQKa3sFtY

Yesterday I re-sorted the biome, dumping some old and adding some new mudpuddle water from a puddle outside. I don't know if I made any significant changes, but the biofilm is still as dense as ever. I only went to the grass outside the house for the new sample and mixed it with some of the old wate...

Seems like you have a great system for observation. You must take it very seriously. I don't really have a setting for elaborate collection. In the past I did see a wider variety than I do now--it may be that my stagnant water sample has to be renewed. Now Spring has finally arrived in Winnipeg. In ...

I decided to go back to the drawing board, at least a little. I added some new rain water from a puddle in the yard. It is something of a new start. Spring has spring!

https://youtu.be/VpfqXkNkTvQ

The biofilm continues to grow denser. The surface of the water seems like it's mostly vegetation that's been been processed through the protists. I think the range of organisms is limiting because of the changes.

https://youtu.be/_j0E3dI9Pjc

Thanks Charlie. I am in my 80s, been around for a while. I have been playing with microscopes for more than 20 years. I appreciate intensely what you say and appreciate your insights. Only this year did I discover that the organisms in my glass jars may not be typical of protists in nature. Getting ...

Thanks very much, Bruce Taylor. You confirmed my beliefs formed by my experience. Winnipeg is not a great place to find life in a natural state. It's quite cold here 7 months of the year. What you did is clear that up for me. I now have understanding. Thanks. I am finding some interesting perspectiv...

I don't know what this is. It was cut from a veggie in the garden. I loved it for its translucent beauty.

https://youtu.be/GKVJ8NeAnJc

I added a small piece of apple in the stagnant water biome. After 24 hours the biome was full of very small organisms joining a group of average-sized protists. There were a lot of bacteria-sized round swimmers. This is a very busy biome that formed after I added the fruit. Clear images were caught ...

Thanks. Spring is just starting here in Winnipeg. We are getting the first days above freezing. My samples have all formed indoors. Now I can probably gather a bit more variety.

Beautiful shots. I rarely observe such integrated behavior. I am working almost entirely with protists in a jar of stagnant water--not from a natural source. It appears that may be a real variable. Almost inevitably--I think--I see protists in a group feeding on bacterial life or products of degener...

Over the course of a week a solid vegetation structure has been reduced to a liquid. This encouraged a fast increase in the reproduction of several species of protozoans. They look like a particular variety of protists in most cases. I don't see ameba or types that feed on protists. ----------------...

I have seen one protist "eat" another--but mostly on well produced videos. In my own work with microbes, usually microbes are in a biofilm, I can't say I have ever seen any kind of hunt and capture. Usually what I see is microbes soaked in biofilm. It looks like all the microbes are benefitting from...

Water depth may divide the water column biologically. My general impression is that different species are found at different depths. These are at the deepest level. I am not skillfully enough to make accurate pronouncements, but that is my general impression. The largest group of organisms are close...

The number and variety of organisms in the biofilm have increased. Many of the organisms move only slowly in the dense biofilm medium. The protists cover a wide range of sizes and types. The surface of the water is now foamy and bubbly. The forms of many of the organisms have dissolved in the medium...

This is part of the stem on a plant in the garden. Circulation in part of the stem was cut off due to injury or disease process. I tried to photograph the state of the stem. It wasn't possible to get perfect images. But the images were instructive.

https://youtu.be/PKSUSPEELz4

In spots, the water in the mudpuddle has become a syrup. I can lift it with my wire hook. The biome is crowded with protists. Some move through the dense medium, some are stationary just absorbing nutrients. This is part of a social life cycle in the biome.

https://youtu.be/5i897EuPem0

Here is an example of the wild enthusiasm microbes have for life. Maybe they just don't know how scary it is. They don't seem to be running away from anything just going about their concerns with enthusiasm. I guess you can say, what do they have to lose? I guess that is the secret. https://youtu.be...

I picked out a section of plant matter floating on the surface of water drained from the mudpuddle. These organisms are in plant matter lifted from the water surface. The material is saturated with water from the mudpuddle but is not floating in water. The biome penetrates the material of the leaf. ...

Watching these living things carry out their lives, I notice that not much is really happening. These little creatures are supposed to be desperately hungry at all times. But when you see them they are are really usually stationary and soaking up the environment or wandering aimlessly and unproducti...

I took a look at the structure of broccoli. The harvested vegetabke is bunches of flowers with small green buds. It is a unique plant as far as I can tell. It has a very special place in the vocabulary of flavor.

https://youtu.be/hN__q_Z0Nms

The population originating on shreds of carrot is still gathering. It is not overwhelmed with biofilm. I didn't see much that is distinctive about it, but it's only been gathering for the last couple of days.

https://youtu.be/2D4fopKL3Zc

I have a thing for looking at doomed plant parts. This was part of a climber that reached out looking to extend the plant. It looked like it couldn't find a connection to the soil and began to close off and dry.

https://youtu.be/rLdEiJjCN0s

The biome was getting a little sleepy so I added a handful of carrot peelings. Rich in sugar, the carrot encourages rapid growth. In one day the population vastly increased. The range of species present is still pretty narrow. Disposal of my garbage does not generate a lot of range. I will have to w...