Small algae
Small algae
I think this may be Scenedesmus. DIC, 40x objective.
Re: Small algae
Maybe but not very green for "Green Algae".
Re: Small algae
I agree. It may be because I used DIC (and, unfortunately, I didn't even look at them with BF, so I don't know what they really looked like). I think that sometimes green algae lose some of their green color (sometimes they appear brownish yellow, other times colorless) but I don't know what that means in terms of their chloroplasts. Perhaps someone can explain this.JimT wrote:Maybe but not very green for "Green Algae".
Re: Small algae
Bonjour gekko
Très belle image.
Merci pour le partage
Cordialement seb
Très belle image.
Merci pour le partage
Cordialement seb
Microscope Leitz Laborlux k
Boitier EOS 1200D + EOS 1100D
Boitier EOS 1200D + EOS 1100D
Re: Small algae
Color's going to be dependent on which pigments they have. There's green and red algae, also brown and some other colors. The confusing part is that not all green algae are green, and the same is true for the other colors. The color designation they get comes from the presumed origin of the plastids and some genetics. Also maybe if its primary/secondary/tertiary/quaternary alga.gekko wrote:I agree. It may be because I used DIC (and, unfortunately, I didn't even look at them with BF, so I don't know what they really looked like). I think that sometimes green algae lose some of their green color (sometimes they appear brownish yellow, other times colorless) but I don't know what that means in terms of their chloroplasts. Perhaps someone can explain this.JimT wrote:Maybe but not very green for "Green Algae".
Chlorophyll a is green, b is a yellowish-greenish color, then there's also other pigments like phycoerythrin and that class which are more orange in color. Phycoerythrin makes a great fluorescent tag, it has a great quantum yield and is really bright.
Another thing that might happen is that really intense light will bleach the pigments and reduce the coloration. I don't recall if I've had that happen with white light but when I use a mercury lamp light source it's easy to destroy all the photosynthetic pigments.
Re: Small algae
Thank you, kinase, for explaining the color (or lack of color) in these green algae. I've seen this phenomenon in other cases too, and also in cyanobacteria. Good to have the explanation.
Re: Small algae
Nice image. Good detail on something that small.
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)