The Brazilian Amazon: Microbes and More
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 9:46 pm
I work in the eastern Brazilian Amazon -- in the Belém region, to be exact.
I shot some footage from my microscope and was wondering if you kind folks could help me identify some of what I found. Most of the footage is shot at 100x or 400x, with some footage at 40x. While I do have a darkfield condenser, all of this footage is brightfield. Sadly I don't have easy access to phase contrast or anything like that.
I took footage from three samples: (1) a pond further out into the rain forest (w/ hay infusion), (2) a roadside "city ditch," and (3) a soil sample from a green patch on the ground. I will start with the material from the first two, as they're the most interesting.
Benevides Pond: Protist Throngs, Part I
00:00 - 0:30 -- Paramecia feeding
- Chilomonas (I think?) with Paramecium
- odd thing (0:10) that I had a hard time getting in view due to the stage being too wet for moving the slide properly
0:30 - 1:37 -- Annelid Worms
- Not sure what that worm is beyond that it's an oligochaete?
- When we zoom in, can we tall if those little guys are Chilomonas?
- is that... protozoa in the worm's gut?
1:38 - -3:00 - Testate amoeba (?); rotifer (?); return of the big worm
- More Chilomonas? Some small Paramecia, too?
- testate amoeba incoming from the bottom at about 1:55? Probably not, as it moves too fast?
- Rotifer or... gastrotrich at 2:14?
- around the same time, what are those slightly bigger brownish circles bobbing around among the possible Chilomonas?
- monster worm comes back in and bumps into our "rotifer" or whatever that is (2:33)
- when we zoom in, we can see the possible Chilomonas as well as the larger oval ciliates (?)
3:00 - 4:10 -- close-ups of Chilomonas (?) and other slightly bigger oval ciliates (?)
- see around 3:15 for when the bigger ciliates show up, more on the left side
- is that a Euglena around 3:48 on the left side? kinda molding its body or whatever (metaboly, it's called, yeah?)?
4:10 - 4:24 -- Paramecium (GREAT views of the cilia)
4:24 - 5:54 -- more mysterious little guys
- more stuff I wish I could identify, like that spinning dude (5:00)
- Paramecia start to show up again (5:17)
- are those pseudopods starting to wave around at 5:37 from that clump of dirt? or are my eyes just playing tricks on me...?
5:54 - 10:06 - Paramecium dividing; hypotrichs; testate amoeba (?); more little guys
- Paramecium dividing in half whizzes by really fast at about 5:54. Pops up back again again shortly.
- I... search for it again.
- oh hey, a hypotrich jumping around. I try to zoom in but only can get Chilomonas, it seems.
- cool hypotrichs at 6:58, 7:07, and 8:05
- my student's fingerprint at about 8:55
- good shot of a Chilomonas spinning a about 9:16?
- the possible testate amoeba shows up again at about 9:58 - 10:06
10:07 - 12:40 -- back to the little guys
-- some really tiny cyanobacteria? (about 11:18)
12:40 - 17:27 -- mostly just more Paramecia
- especially good, if brief, shot of a one at 13:47
- super tiny spinny thing at 16:30
- finally find one that's dividing in half (17:27)
Benevides Pond: Protist Throngs, Part II
0:00 - 3:40 -- the paramecium dividing in half (also a good look at the cilia)
- That big worm swim by at 0:48, and then again shortly after that
- super tiny bundle of green cells at 2:40? (One even breaks away from the group?) similar groups at about 3:28?
3:40 - 5:45 -- hypotrich dividing in half
- decent close-up shot at 4:40
5:45 - 6:45 -- little spinny things
- more interesting little greenish spinny things at 5:45
- quick paramecia visits shortly after that
6:45 - 7:55 -- return of the worm
- that big ugly oligochaete shows up again
- rotifer again, 6:52 or so (up past the worms' head, and the worm kinda bumps it)
7:55 - 8:28 -- final sweep
Benevides Pond: The Three Worms
00:00 - 0:50 -- worms
- Stylaria at the beginning
- Paramecia among various small protozoa... Chilomonas? (0:05)
- another unknown oligochaete shows up (0:08). We'll call this Mystery Worm #1.
- that worm disappears off screen, and you're left looking at lots of little unknown protozoa I guess
- ... but then it shows up again (0:44)
0:50 - 1:13 -- more Chilomonas?
1:14 - 1:38 -- Hypotrich!!! I wanna say it's Euplotes
1:38 -- 2:30 -- more mysteries (I think there's a smaller hypotrich there, too, though)
2:30 - -3:55 -- Chilomonas (?)
- probably the clearest ones at are about 2:44 or so
- algae in focus at 3:30... no idea what it is
3:55 -- 4:32 -- out of focus section
- Euplotes jumping at 4:22 or so?
4:32 - 6:40 -- Mystery Rotifer
- guest appearance by a Paramecium (5:36)
- guest appearance by a Chilomonas? (5:54)
- guest appearance by a smaller rotifer? (6:34, bottom right corner)
6:40 - 7:12-- Hypotrich feeding area
-- featuring some guest appearances by Paramecium
-- are those two ciliates conjugating at 7:02 (right side) and again briefly at 7:07?
7:12 - 7:22 -- interlude
- what's that rotating ciliate that looks like it's flat as it spins? (left side, roughly 7:18). It's heading up towards the out-of-focus rotifer.
7:22 - 8:25 -- the third worm
- big ole mystery oligochaete. We'll call it Mystery Worm #2
- Amazingly, Mystery Worm #1 drops by (7:30) and then comes back again later on (8:18)
- something barrels in from the top right corner (7:45). a weird rotifer?
8:25 -- 11:14 -- back to Stylaria
- we then... follow Mystery Worm #1 to bump back to Stylaria again!
- amazingly, you can see the muscles of the gut contract and move food down the gut (most clearly around 9:11 and onwards)
- lots of those little things around Stylaria. Are they Chilomonas?
===========
What I'm wondering from you guys: Are any of my identifications incorrect? Any help on the mystery organisms? any help narrowing down e.g. the species of paramecium or genus of rotifer? Many thanks!
I shot some footage from my microscope and was wondering if you kind folks could help me identify some of what I found. Most of the footage is shot at 100x or 400x, with some footage at 40x. While I do have a darkfield condenser, all of this footage is brightfield. Sadly I don't have easy access to phase contrast or anything like that.
I took footage from three samples: (1) a pond further out into the rain forest (w/ hay infusion), (2) a roadside "city ditch," and (3) a soil sample from a green patch on the ground. I will start with the material from the first two, as they're the most interesting.
Benevides Pond: Protist Throngs, Part I
00:00 - 0:30 -- Paramecia feeding
- Chilomonas (I think?) with Paramecium
- odd thing (0:10) that I had a hard time getting in view due to the stage being too wet for moving the slide properly
0:30 - 1:37 -- Annelid Worms
- Not sure what that worm is beyond that it's an oligochaete?
- When we zoom in, can we tall if those little guys are Chilomonas?
- is that... protozoa in the worm's gut?
1:38 - -3:00 - Testate amoeba (?); rotifer (?); return of the big worm
- More Chilomonas? Some small Paramecia, too?
- testate amoeba incoming from the bottom at about 1:55? Probably not, as it moves too fast?
- Rotifer or... gastrotrich at 2:14?
- around the same time, what are those slightly bigger brownish circles bobbing around among the possible Chilomonas?
- monster worm comes back in and bumps into our "rotifer" or whatever that is (2:33)
- when we zoom in, we can see the possible Chilomonas as well as the larger oval ciliates (?)
3:00 - 4:10 -- close-ups of Chilomonas (?) and other slightly bigger oval ciliates (?)
- see around 3:15 for when the bigger ciliates show up, more on the left side
- is that a Euglena around 3:48 on the left side? kinda molding its body or whatever (metaboly, it's called, yeah?)?
4:10 - 4:24 -- Paramecium (GREAT views of the cilia)
4:24 - 5:54 -- more mysterious little guys
- more stuff I wish I could identify, like that spinning dude (5:00)
- Paramecia start to show up again (5:17)
- are those pseudopods starting to wave around at 5:37 from that clump of dirt? or are my eyes just playing tricks on me...?
5:54 - 10:06 - Paramecium dividing; hypotrichs; testate amoeba (?); more little guys
- Paramecium dividing in half whizzes by really fast at about 5:54. Pops up back again again shortly.
- I... search for it again.
- oh hey, a hypotrich jumping around. I try to zoom in but only can get Chilomonas, it seems.
- cool hypotrichs at 6:58, 7:07, and 8:05
- my student's fingerprint at about 8:55
- good shot of a Chilomonas spinning a about 9:16?
- the possible testate amoeba shows up again at about 9:58 - 10:06
10:07 - 12:40 -- back to the little guys
-- some really tiny cyanobacteria? (about 11:18)
12:40 - 17:27 -- mostly just more Paramecia
- especially good, if brief, shot of a one at 13:47
- super tiny spinny thing at 16:30
- finally find one that's dividing in half (17:27)
Benevides Pond: Protist Throngs, Part II
0:00 - 3:40 -- the paramecium dividing in half (also a good look at the cilia)
- That big worm swim by at 0:48, and then again shortly after that
- super tiny bundle of green cells at 2:40? (One even breaks away from the group?) similar groups at about 3:28?
3:40 - 5:45 -- hypotrich dividing in half
- decent close-up shot at 4:40
5:45 - 6:45 -- little spinny things
- more interesting little greenish spinny things at 5:45
- quick paramecia visits shortly after that
6:45 - 7:55 -- return of the worm
- that big ugly oligochaete shows up again
- rotifer again, 6:52 or so (up past the worms' head, and the worm kinda bumps it)
7:55 - 8:28 -- final sweep
Benevides Pond: The Three Worms
00:00 - 0:50 -- worms
- Stylaria at the beginning
- Paramecia among various small protozoa... Chilomonas? (0:05)
- another unknown oligochaete shows up (0:08). We'll call this Mystery Worm #1.
- that worm disappears off screen, and you're left looking at lots of little unknown protozoa I guess
- ... but then it shows up again (0:44)
0:50 - 1:13 -- more Chilomonas?
1:14 - 1:38 -- Hypotrich!!! I wanna say it's Euplotes
1:38 -- 2:30 -- more mysteries (I think there's a smaller hypotrich there, too, though)
2:30 - -3:55 -- Chilomonas (?)
- probably the clearest ones at are about 2:44 or so
- algae in focus at 3:30... no idea what it is
3:55 -- 4:32 -- out of focus section
- Euplotes jumping at 4:22 or so?
4:32 - 6:40 -- Mystery Rotifer
- guest appearance by a Paramecium (5:36)
- guest appearance by a Chilomonas? (5:54)
- guest appearance by a smaller rotifer? (6:34, bottom right corner)
6:40 - 7:12-- Hypotrich feeding area
-- featuring some guest appearances by Paramecium
-- are those two ciliates conjugating at 7:02 (right side) and again briefly at 7:07?
7:12 - 7:22 -- interlude
- what's that rotating ciliate that looks like it's flat as it spins? (left side, roughly 7:18). It's heading up towards the out-of-focus rotifer.
7:22 - 8:25 -- the third worm
- big ole mystery oligochaete. We'll call it Mystery Worm #2
- Amazingly, Mystery Worm #1 drops by (7:30) and then comes back again later on (8:18)
- something barrels in from the top right corner (7:45). a weird rotifer?
8:25 -- 11:14 -- back to Stylaria
- we then... follow Mystery Worm #1 to bump back to Stylaria again!
- amazingly, you can see the muscles of the gut contract and move food down the gut (most clearly around 9:11 and onwards)
- lots of those little things around Stylaria. Are they Chilomonas?
===========
What I'm wondering from you guys: Are any of my identifications incorrect? Any help on the mystery organisms? any help narrowing down e.g. the species of paramecium or genus of rotifer? Many thanks!