Snapshots From a Sphagnum Fen (Edited 10/03)

[WalterD]

My curiousity for what can be found in a drop of water from a mesotrophic (containing moderate amounts of nutrients) environment, led me late February -equipped with a plankton net- to one of the nearby sphagnum fens. Been there previously but still interested though about possible discoveries to be made this time of the year, end of the winter season.
And I was not being disappointed! Especially regarding micro-fauna it turned out to be crowded: Lots of different rotifers, including females with eggs were swarming underneath the coverslip. Furthermore ciliatea, amoebae, some cyclops and small water fleas (not the large ones that can be found more often). As expected concerning (micro-)flora it was less busy. In the samples I researched though, several species of desmids were found. A visit to another fen 3 months ago did not provide me any desmid that time. For the pictures I've brought some species together.
The characteristic Sphagnum, that creates an explosion of green each year was virtually absent, still I found one or two small pieces at the edge, under thin ice.

All and all a successful expedition. The funny thing is the mesotrophic water is in such a balance that it can easily be kept in a mini-aquarium outside for additional microscopic sessions...which is now duly noted.


1. Waterflea (Chydorus Sphaericus) DIC 25x


2. Rotifer (Gattung Keratella) Oil immersion polarisation 50x


3. Desmids (Closterium, Micrasterias and Euastrum) DIC 40x


4. Birch seed (betula) that ended up in the sample, 6,3x with compensator plate and mismatched phase stop.


5. Sphagnum brightfield 6.3x


6.Cyclops, "pseudo" DIC 6.3x


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Thanks for watching!

[Jacek]

Very nice photos !
I am the nearest tank with acidic water to have more than 100 kilometers. It's my favorite environment due to desmids.
You in the Netherlands unless you have a lot of places. Envy
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My Photos: http://dysk.onet.pl/link/LSQpH#.

[NikonUser]

Nice collection
#4 is a Birch seed Betula sp.
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NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

[Beatsy]

Lovely set, but the rotifer is just stand-out stunning IMO. Thanks for sharing.

[Cactusdave]

Very nice. The rotifer is special.
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Leitz Ortholux 1, Zeiss standard, Nikon Diaphot inverted, Canon photographic gear

[WalterD]

Good to hear that!
@ Jacek: "Nearby" still means a 1 hour drive in my case, anyway it's worth it.
@ Nikonuser: Thanks for the ID, saw you pictured a similar one a couple of years ago...already had this deja vu feeling...
@ Beatsy & Cactusdave: Though not the expected first choice for examining plankton, I've been using this 50x/NA1,00 oil immersion objective for the Keratella (and for the water mite head in previous post). Of course it's a bit of luck as well, however the lens usually performs great, with excellent contrast and unexpected detail. I actually decided to buy one after reading very positive feedback in one of the objectives discussions in this forum.
7. Rotifer 25xDIC

8. Rotifer 40xDIC Compensator Plate (partially desaturated color-DIC)

9. Sphagnum 10x Darkfield

10. Sphagnum 16x Darkfield

[Jacek]

Sure it's worth, there are some beautiful microorganisms

moss beautiful
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My Photos: http://dysk.onet.pl/link/LSQpH#.

[Smokedaddy]

... excellent images, lots of work there too.

[rjlittlefield]

Marvelous work!

Are the rotifers single exposures or focus stacks?

--Rik

[WalterD]

Pleased you appreciate it.
Rik; all images, incl. the rotifers have been stacked, the majority with Zerene's D-map. The DIC I'm using (Smith-T) is confusing even the most sophisticated stacking software as it usually sees different details at different depths. This makes especially color-DIC time-consuming to process; you need to pick out the right details from each image manually.

To deal with this I've used only 5 to 10 images per picture and made separate small substacks, especially the top part as its continuously moving / retracting. After combining this, in photoshop more specific details from a single picture have sometimes been added by an additional layer combined with the history brush.

Cheers,

Walter

[GaryB]

You have some beautiful colors going on in those shots.