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But they are scavengers too?

smollerthings wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:35 am

But they are scavengers too?

Not to my knowledge. They are autotrophic; they are however on a lot of menus!

75RR wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:39 pm

They are autotrophic

That what I figured. But I have seen numerous instances of these guys crowding and getting very excited around dead organisms. The video I posted is an example. Another one here:

They probably pick up on useful nutrients leaking out of recently dead organisms. Maybe silicon, for example, gets concentrated in protists? Also other useful trace elements. Just a theory

Louise

LouiseScot wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:07 am

They probably pick up on useful nutrients leaking out of recently dead organisms.

I think you are right. They sometimes even go inside of dead organisms. Doesn't it make them scavengers? Agreed, they only aspirate the liquid and don't bite pieces off them but isn't this behavior comparable?

smollerthings wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:12 pm

LouiseScot wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:07 am

They probably pick up on useful nutrients leaking out of recently dead organisms.

I think you are right. They sometimes even go inside of dead organisms. Doesn't it make them scavengers? Agreed, they only aspirate the liquid and don't bite pieces off them but isn't this behavior comparable?

Dunno - grey area? I suppose, like any motile organisms, they move away from potential bad things but towards things they sense as beneficial. I don't know how many diatom species can actually move - only some?

Louise

LouiseScot wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:28 pm

Dunno - grey area? I suppose, like any motile organisms, they move away from potential bad things but towards things they sense as beneficial. I don't know how many diatom species can actually move - only some?

See link below for degree of Motility

https://diatoms.org/species/motility/non-motile
.

The truth gets even more scary. They also live inside human bodies. IN DECOMPOSING BODIES!!!!

https://www.deepseanews.com/2014/09/dia ... h-diatoms/

Femers are longitudinally sectioned using a clean band saw…” (Verma, 2013) – and then dissolved in acid. The gooey mix of liquified tissue is centrifuged and purified, and the slurry that remains is examined under the microscope to look for diatoms and identify the species present. The police can go even further and collect swabs of dirt from suspects’ shoes and homes.

Oh my!

75RR wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:39 pm

smollerthings wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:35 am

But they are scavengers too?

Not to my knowledge. They are autotrophic; they are however on a lot of menus!

Frotonia loves Diatoms

I wonder how silica is digested...

smollerthings wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 14, 2021 7:30 am

I wonder how silica is digested...

Don't believe it is, it is the contents that are of interest.

I thank OP for observing mobile diatoms often migrate towards dead ( this means breaking down organisms) animals or dead plant-animals. Plenty of autotrophic/mixotrophic/ saprotrophic/and phagotrophic 'grazers'...congregate about a corpse being recycled/ 'composted if you will'. These eager to attend a 'feeding frenzy' are bacteria...some huge bacteria on the size scale of smaller algae cells, said mobile diatoms, and many other levels of 'recyclers/grazers'. A crude and morbid similar situation is a wounded and bleeding vertebrate in shark occurring waters...or on land where 'everything also is needed to be recycled/composted'. Chemoreception/ scent reception is a basic level of organisms survival playbook..mobile diatoms are a part of this dance to feeding locations.

The links provided on diatom tendency towards levels of mobility are sweet. It would be wrong-headed to speculate on mobile diatoms being alone macabre and seeking to pursue dead bodies...always respect the ancient chemoreception/olfaction which attracts a mob of recyclers to a site of 'nutrient release'.

Diatoms found in the renal glomerular kidney tissues imply that victims heart was beating..blood was circulating when the victim entered the body of water...if victim drowned in bathtub ( criminal or accidental)..then dumped in a body of water...there will be no diatoms in kidney tissues...thus a suspicious death...already a criminal act established. Bone marrow diatom scrutiny I opine is reckless and not well calibrated forensics...perhaps 'dream analysis ' in court as uncalibrated as: diatoms in a victims bone marrow.

A respected forensic insect entemolygist, Dr. Andrew Chick, ( a kind microscopy forum poster)...would advise there is nothing morbid about the insect waves which are attracted to a vertebrate corpse on land .

Mobile diatoms get to a community nutrient source with multiple phya...prokaryotes, protists, and meiofauna.