Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi togehter,
I was sent a sample from a moor in the Tharandter wood, Saxonia. It is very rich in interesting an unusual species.
In this thread I will show a cople of images as time allows.
First is a Micrasterias algae, taken with a NPL Fluotar 50:1 1,0 oil, Zeiss DIC "alt"
Bob
I was sent a sample from a moor in the Tharandter wood, Saxonia. It is very rich in interesting an unusual species.
In this thread I will show a cople of images as time allows.
First is a Micrasterias algae, taken with a NPL Fluotar 50:1 1,0 oil, Zeiss DIC "alt"
Bob
- Attachments
-
- DSC_3552bearbeitet 1024.jpg (448.56 KiB) Viewed 6671 times
Last edited by MicroBob on Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia
Amazing image
Did they send the sample in the post?
Did they send the sample in the post?
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia
Yes, I can show a picture of the transport bags.
They work great, but are not really cheap.
A letter, big one in this case, usually takes 1 day in Germany. So if you do a good timing it is no problem to send a sample. It shouldn't be kept in darkness for too long, not too warm, and get some air as soon as possible. I had my son open the expected letter and put the sample on a window sill of a north window.
I attendend a meeting of a nature protection organisation, our University and our society yesterday where a desmidicea monitoring program for our region was installed. Our university has one of the biggest live collections of desmidiaceae world wide and know how to handle them properly. Unfortunatly the number of different species and individuals in Hamburgs moors has dwindled to next to nothing in the past decades. And micro algae are the food for ciliates, insect larvae, etc., all along the food chain. A EU water monitoring program exists, but it only looks at big rivers and lakes, not at the tiny wet areas were most desmidiacea live. This seem to be a general problem, not limited to our region. After the big decline in insect numbers (minus 75% in Germany), the micro world seems to be the next problem area that will be detected.
Bob
They work great, but are not really cheap.
A letter, big one in this case, usually takes 1 day in Germany. So if you do a good timing it is no problem to send a sample. It shouldn't be kept in darkness for too long, not too warm, and get some air as soon as possible. I had my son open the expected letter and put the sample on a window sill of a north window.
I attendend a meeting of a nature protection organisation, our University and our society yesterday where a desmidicea monitoring program for our region was installed. Our university has one of the biggest live collections of desmidiaceae world wide and know how to handle them properly. Unfortunatly the number of different species and individuals in Hamburgs moors has dwindled to next to nothing in the past decades. And micro algae are the food for ciliates, insect larvae, etc., all along the food chain. A EU water monitoring program exists, but it only looks at big rivers and lakes, not at the tiny wet areas were most desmidiacea live. This seem to be a general problem, not limited to our region. After the big decline in insect numbers (minus 75% in Germany), the micro world seems to be the next problem area that will be detected.
Bob
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia
and one more...
100 Plan
Gypsum crystals in the end vacuole.
100 Plan
Gypsum crystals in the end vacuole.
- Attachments
-
- DSC_3369_1024.jpg (483.72 KiB) Viewed 6660 times
Last edited by MicroBob on Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Fantastic - please keep the desmid images coming! (And yes, please post a picture of the sample bag, sounds interesting.)
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67904872@ ... 912223623/
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67904872@ ... 912223623/
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi together,
this time a quite small heliozoa.
Bob
this time a quite small heliozoa.
Bob
- Attachments
-
- Sonnentierchen1024.jpg (475.73 KiB) Viewed 6615 times
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Here is a link to a website with a SEM image that explains the woven looking surface of the heliozoa: http://penard.de/Explorer/Heliozoa/Acanthocystidae/
Bob
Bob
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Very nice! ... and thanks for the reminder, had not visited Penard for too long - those guys take the most amazing images
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Here is a link where an animate GIF shows the duplication of a Micrasterias algae over about 100 minutes. It is from Gerd who sent me the sample.
https://photobucket.com/gallery/user/pl ... Z2lm/?ref=
Just amazing!
Bob
https://photobucket.com/gallery/user/pl ... Z2lm/?ref=
Just amazing!
Bob
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi together,
I stacked the micrasterias images and like the image quality even more than the single image.
We will put a bigger version on our website.
Bob
I stacked the micrasterias images and like the image quality even more than the single image.
We will put a bigger version on our website.
Bob
- Attachments
-
- Micrasterias gestackt bearbeitet 1024.jpg (396.24 KiB) Viewed 6573 times
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
A very pleasing artist creation!
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi Bob,
Great images! How do you achieve the blue background? Do you use a lambda plate or you rotate the polarizer and shift the principal prism to get that effect?
Great images! How do you achieve the blue background? Do you use a lambda plate or you rotate the polarizer and shift the principal prism to get that effect?
Zeiss Photomicroscope III BF/DF/Pol/Ph/DIC/FL/Jamin-Lebedeff
Youtube channel
Youtube channel
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi Wes,
this is a built-in feature of Zeiss DIC "alt". There is an analyser slide in the filter slot in the tube head with a thumb screw that moves the prism. At one end one typically starts with light blue, then dark blue, violet, red, orange... In the middle position the imag is colour neutral, sometimes more like dark field, sometimes with a brighter tone, then the same towards the other end until you end with light blue and an image with the effect just mirrored.
For me the most pleasing effect is often found in the blue region and since I'm no scientist I can play around with the colours just as it pleases me. The blue is especially dark in this image as i underexposed intentionally to avoid too bright highlights that can lead to artefacts in stacking.
@Kurt: The bags are named Nasco Whirl pak (100ml / 4 OZ size). They are not zip-locked but fold over, rolled up and are secured by a metal wire. The University uses them too, probably the professionals choice. https://www.fishersci.de/shop/products/ ... 5/11716873
Bob
this is a built-in feature of Zeiss DIC "alt". There is an analyser slide in the filter slot in the tube head with a thumb screw that moves the prism. At one end one typically starts with light blue, then dark blue, violet, red, orange... In the middle position the imag is colour neutral, sometimes more like dark field, sometimes with a brighter tone, then the same towards the other end until you end with light blue and an image with the effect just mirrored.
For me the most pleasing effect is often found in the blue region and since I'm no scientist I can play around with the colours just as it pleases me. The blue is especially dark in this image as i underexposed intentionally to avoid too bright highlights that can lead to artefacts in stacking.
@Kurt: The bags are named Nasco Whirl pak (100ml / 4 OZ size). They are not zip-locked but fold over, rolled up and are secured by a metal wire. The University uses them too, probably the professionals choice. https://www.fishersci.de/shop/products/ ... 5/11716873
Bob
- Attachments
-
- Nasco Whirl Pak 100ml.jpg (201.86 KiB) Viewed 6539 times
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Indeed, zip-lock bags, commonly assumed to give watertight seal, don't really. I'm an old canoe and kayak instructor among other things, and can't tell you how many sad tales of heartache I've seen and heard about people putting valuables in ziploc baggies only to end up with expensive stuff ruined.They are not zip-locked...
Thanks for the sample bag info!
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67904872@ ... 912223623/
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas
email: ngc704(at)gmail(dot)com
https://www.flickr.com/photos/67904872@ ... 912223623/
-
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2019 2:07 am
- Location: Oregon, USA
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia
There isn't much info on similar monitoring programs in the US, unless maybe one knows specifically where to look. I have noticed that the authorities here simply measure coliforms as the basis for water health in our local river. Well, a friend recently brought me a water/mud sample from that river and there was nothing much to see beyond bacteria. It felt dead. And that's healthy?MicroBob wrote: I attendend a meeting of a nature protection organisation, our University and our society yesterday where a desmidicea monitoring program for our region was installed. Our university has one of the biggest live collections of desmidiaceae world wide and know how to handle them properly. Unfortunatly the number of different species and individuals in Hamburgs moors has dwindled to next to nothing in the past decades. And micro algae are the food for ciliates, insect larvae, etc., all along the food chain. A EU water monitoring program exists, but it only looks at big rivers and lakes, not at the tiny wet areas were most desmidiacea live. This seem to be a general problem, not limited to our region. After the big decline in insect numbers (minus 75% in Germany), the micro world seems to be the next problem area that will be detected.
Here's an interesting link - a bit long - but at least some scientists are aware of the trend:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-019-0222-5
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi Heather,
that is an interesting report, only i doubt that the relevant persons will read it in time.
In the past there has been a lot of research on algae and other micro organisms in the water, but what has been missing is a continuous monitoring and an alarm level to react in time. So it is likely that there is a new monster is raising it's head...
But the problem can not be everywhere so I post one more picture, a big ciliate.
Bob
that is an interesting report, only i doubt that the relevant persons will read it in time.
In the past there has been a lot of research on algae and other micro organisms in the water, but what has been missing is a continuous monitoring and an alarm level to react in time. So it is likely that there is a new monster is raising it's head...
But the problem can not be everywhere so I post one more picture, a big ciliate.
Bob
- Attachments
-
- Unbekanntes Tierchen 1024.jpg (362.05 KiB) Viewed 6474 times
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi together,
here is a video of this interesting ciliate that shows more of it's behaviour. I have never seen anything like it before, but is is common in the water it is from.
https://vimeo.com/355850812
Bob
here is a video of this interesting ciliate that shows more of it's behaviour. I have never seen anything like it before, but is is common in the water it is from.
https://vimeo.com/355850812
Bob
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi together,
I spent some more time with this interesting sample.
One thing I tried but didn't really mange so far was to get a good stacked image af a Micrasterias that is not lying flat but in a nangle to the cover slip.
Then there is a picture of the housing of an amoeba.
Bob
I spent some more time with this interesting sample.
One thing I tried but didn't really mange so far was to get a good stacked image af a Micrasterias that is not lying flat but in a nangle to the cover slip.
Then there is a picture of the housing of an amoeba.
Bob
- Attachments
-
- Micrasterias geneigt 1 1024.jpg (453.53 KiB) Viewed 6373 times
-
- Schalenamöbe 3-RGB.jpg (239.72 KiB) Viewed 6373 times
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Again very nice! Lovely Micrasterias
+ It looks like the amoeba house/shell/test is made up of diatoms!
+ It looks like the amoeba house/shell/test is made up of diatoms!
Zeiss Standard WL (somewhat fashion challenged) & Wild M8
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Olympus E-P2 (Micro Four Thirds Camera)
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi Bob
The Micrasterias photo is very beautiful.
The Micrasterias photo is very beautiful.
Re: Desmidiacea images - Tharandter wood, Saxonia, Germany
Hi together,
I have seen pictures of amoeba housings that are made from diatoms, but in this case I can't see a clear sign of diatom frustules. On the other hand side I don't know what the amoeba could have used otherwise. The image was taken with the old Olympus inverted CK and a 20:1 LWD objective through the bottom of a culture bottle. So there wasn't more detail resolved.
Apparently Micrasterias are difficult to photograph perfectly. I tried to show the form of the algae by photographing a speciment that is quite inclinded, but the increasing diastance to the coverslip doesn't help the immage quality. Left upper side is the top, close to the cover slip and here the image look quite good.
It also is a problem that the surface is furry green stuff and inside are clearly formed oil drops that show too much in the stacked image.
Bob
I have seen pictures of amoeba housings that are made from diatoms, but in this case I can't see a clear sign of diatom frustules. On the other hand side I don't know what the amoeba could have used otherwise. The image was taken with the old Olympus inverted CK and a 20:1 LWD objective through the bottom of a culture bottle. So there wasn't more detail resolved.
Apparently Micrasterias are difficult to photograph perfectly. I tried to show the form of the algae by photographing a speciment that is quite inclinded, but the increasing diastance to the coverslip doesn't help the immage quality. Left upper side is the top, close to the cover slip and here the image look quite good.
It also is a problem that the surface is furry green stuff and inside are clearly formed oil drops that show too much in the stacked image.
Bob
- Attachments
-
- Schalenamöbe Einzelbild 1024.jpg (221.71 KiB) Viewed 6347 times