Haematococcus (short video)

[gekko]

Haematococcus video.
[Phase contrast, 40x Nikon planachromat, 2x projection lens, & Olympus E-P1 camera body.]


Click on HD to view the video in HD, or click on vimeo for full size.
Water sample kindly provided by Crater Eddie.

[hkv]

Very nice! Great quality

[Mintaka]

Astoundingly detailed Haematococcus - well done!! (The missus liked your video too. Said it reminded her of xmas decorations. )

[Crater Eddie]

Beautiful!

[75RR]

Another great video!

[JimT]

Beautiful!!!
Other than bird baths where else can I find Haematococcus this Summer?
What was the round object it bumped into at ~40 sec that you lit up? Also beautiful.

[gekko]

hkv, Mintaka, CE, 75RR, and JimT, thank you all for your very kind and encouraging comments.

Mintaka, I'm gratified that the missus liked it too, and I agree, it would make a very nice Christmas tree ornament .

JimT, I think your best bet is a bird bath. I don't know where else you might find them. As to the green round object with two flagella at ~40 s, my very ignorant assumption is that it is also Haematococcus but I hope someone knowledgeable will tell us what it is. By far most of what was on the slide were those little, round green things.

[lorez]

First class video, Mr Gekko,

I agree with what you say about the bird bath. I have a heated bird waterer that has an abundant growth of algae on the bottom and sides of the pan. I wash it periodically, but never scrape out the growth. It is a rich source of interesting organisms and only a few steps from the back door. Now that I think about it, the bird waterer has been in service for at least six years. I will admit that it has gone dry a couple of times, but everything seems to make it through the stressful times.

lorez

[rnabholz]

Gekko!

Finally got home where I can see the video! That is stunning. The sharpness and color is simply outstanding. A beautiful video. Congratulations.

Rod

[gekko]

lorez, many thanks! It is great that you have a nice bird bath, so instead of always cleaning it, why not take some of the algae to examine under the microscope every now and then?

Rod, thank you very much for your very kind comments. I am always amazed at the beauty and colors of those algae.

Thanks again to everyone for your kind comments.

[Crater Eddie]

I wonder why they always appear in bird baths? Maybe the birds transport them on their feet?
CE

[Mintaka]

I've wondered about that too. According to some literature, they favour small bodies of water, and bird baths certainly qualify as that. Presumably such bodies of water often freezes, or dries up, or end up with massively concentrated minerals or organic loads. The Haematococ ...(cusses?) are able to form resilient cysts, enabling them to survive such hardships. So maybe they are slow growing but hardy, and can therefore outcompete the faster growing but more delicate green algae in tough environments.