masses of p. bursaria... what's going on?

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Charles Krebs
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Location: Issaquah, WA USA

masses of p. bursaria... what's going on?

Post by Charles Krebs »

I looked at a large "sample" tray that I keep outside and thought I had some sort of algal bloom going on. All around the edges of the tray, at the waterline, were small green "clumps". I collected some in an eyedropper and was surprised to see that the "clumps" were masses of paramecium bursaria. They disbursed when initially put on the slide, but soon gathered together into several clumps, even though there was plenty of water (too much!) on the slide, and there was lots of room for them to move around (ie: they were not forced into this dense concentration). Wonder why they were doing this?

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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Thats one wild photograph there Charlie :D Did you notice any conjugation going on or any high levels of bacteria in the place where they congregate? Unusual. I have seen not only P. bursaria but other paramecium and protists as well, congregate around an air bubble in the slide and around the edges of the coverslip, they sometimes tend to congregate where oxygen levels are high. Quite interesting, thanks for posting this. :D
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Kenneth Ramos
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Charles Krebs
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Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:50 am
Location: Issaquah, WA USA

Post by Charles Krebs »

You know Ken, I specifically looked to see if there were any unusual concentrations of bacteria or other food source, but couldn't see any. Like you, I have seen "grouping" at the edges of a coverslip, or when "pushed" together as water evaporates. But this group was near the middle of the cover glass of a fairly "fresh" wet mount with lots of water. And I first noticed the large "clumps" with my un-aided eye in the outside "tray" where the water was about an inch deep (the tray dimensions are about 12x16 inches). So I'm puzzled!

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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Hmm...I wonder if there might be some sort of trophism going on or maybe an effect caused by the symbiosis with the algae? Paramecium as are some other ciliates, phototrophic. I am brainstorming possiblities here. After I answered your initial post, the thought of some sort of trophism came to mind but I too am still puzzled. Maybe some of the other members may have a clue or answer. If ya got time keep an "eye" on em,' see what else happens. :)
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Kenneth Ramos
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Wim van Egmond
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Post by Wim van Egmond »

very nice image! wasn't it the light they were attracted to? Or oxygen? But perhaps it may be a form of protection to group together.

Wim

Charles Krebs
Posts: 1200
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:50 am
Location: Issaquah, WA USA

Post by Charles Krebs »

Hi Wim... I can imagine several reasons why I might see this on a wet mount slide (oxygen levels or attraction to light). But what puzzles me is the reason it occured (and caught my attention) in the outside tray. A typical overcast Pacific Northwest sky on a cool day makes me tend to rule out phototropism. As I said, the tray is about 12x16 inches, and had about an inch of water in it, (and about a 1/4 inch of debris/mud at the bottom). There were many of these "clumps" easily visible to the unaided eye (even without my reading glasses) so there were very large numbers of individuals accumulated.

Anyway, whatever the reason, it was neat to see but surprisingly hard to get a good shot. When the the water in the slide was "too much" the mass was two or three "layers" deep and they were constantly swirling around (as in this picture). As the water depth in the slide decreased it was easier to photograph, but it then started to look like the typical "artificial" gathering you can get when critters are forceably pushed together by limited space.

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