A grumpy rotifer (Lepadella or Euchlanis ??) spitefully launches an unprovoked attack with "Malice Aforethought" on an unsuspecting Copepod nauplius ( I think a Harpacticoid )
https://youtu.be/3WIOt18XSFQ
I had spent quite a few days watching / chasing various of these nauplii that live in my micro-aquarium,
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7846&p=91849#p91613
before I found this one that looked asleep, or recently dead, and was a suitable candidate to obtain some images for a focus stack.
Just when I had it nicely framed with the right objective, all set up, ready, steady ,, oh!
Then ensued a chase of disgruntled nauplius around the slide until (cropped video for brevity) it settled down long enough for me to do a reasonable focus-pull video sequence to extract into Picolay to stack.
Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod nauplius !
Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod nauplius !
Last edited by SWmicro on Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod napaulis !
Nice video SWmicro. Copepods can be frustrating to chase 
Re: Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod napaulis !
Egg or poop ?
I didnt notice that at the time but I have seen the same previously quite a few times and wondered about eggs because they always seem to be the same size and shape.
Somewhere I have some better video of them doing that, I will try to find it.
However, if I am right that these are nauplii then they wouldn't yet be laying, only the final adult stage I think ?
I didnt notice that at the time but I have seen the same previously quite a few times and wondered about eggs because they always seem to be the same size and shape.
Somewhere I have some better video of them doing that, I will try to find it.
However, if I am right that these are nauplii then they wouldn't yet be laying, only the final adult stage I think ?
Last edited by SWmicro on Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod napaulis !
I assume just the adults lay eggs but it doesn't really look like waste to me but idk
Re: Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod napaulis !
Thanks.
yes, almost as frustrating as trying to find a particular video in amongst 290Gb of videos !
Re: Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod napaulis !
So, my reason for posting the above vid was " what do you think was going on " ? :-
The rotifer appeared to sail happily past without a care in the world and then, suddenly, it seemed to think " there is one of those horrid copepods, I am going to beat-up on it" and it turned back in its tracks to do just that. Not once but twice, seemingly with purpose.
Ok, I am anthropomorphizing a bit for effect, but I have not seen anything quite like that before in my short time with the micro world.
Mostly it seems that things just bump into each other accidentally. Or, for hunters, they quest about first with flagella or pseudopods or what-have-you.
Without complex eyes to see it must have other "sensing at a distance" organs ( even sensing backwards in this case !! ). Also, to what purpose ? It didn't seem to be hunting, there was no attempt to give chase and bite off bits, just two quick lunges and then off it went !
The rotifer appeared to sail happily past without a care in the world and then, suddenly, it seemed to think " there is one of those horrid copepods, I am going to beat-up on it" and it turned back in its tracks to do just that. Not once but twice, seemingly with purpose.
Ok, I am anthropomorphizing a bit for effect, but I have not seen anything quite like that before in my short time with the micro world.
Mostly it seems that things just bump into each other accidentally. Or, for hunters, they quest about first with flagella or pseudopods or what-have-you.
Without complex eyes to see it must have other "sensing at a distance" organs ( even sensing backwards in this case !! ). Also, to what purpose ? It didn't seem to be hunting, there was no attempt to give chase and bite off bits, just two quick lunges and then off it went !
Re: Rotifer attempts GBH on Copepod napaulis !
No rotifer psychologists in the house
Epilogue:
It finally settled down for a few seconds so I was able to get a set of just over 300 images to stack. (the other microbes in frame were not so obliging !)
stacks of 300 and 30 frames :
- 300_en.jpg (95.06 KiB) Viewed 3018 times
- 30-en.jpg (84.13 KiB) Viewed 3018 times