Pond Collecting - A Safari

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Robert Berdan
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Location: Calgary
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Pond Collecting - A Safari

Post by Robert Berdan »

On Saturday May 29th - went out pond collecting nearby my home in Calgary as I often do to capture a few interesting specimens which still need to be identified. I am attaching few of my favorites below. Any assistance with identification welcome. Most ciliates I have seen divide appear end to end so it was interesting to see the Euplotes looking like joined twins. I am trying to find more suctorians and other interesting specimens. Pond collecting is like going on a safari, but a lot cheaper :D

Backgrounds on all the images were cleaned up with Photoshop except for the one of the cyst.
Attachments
Heliozoan 200X Darkfield - actinophryid
Heliozoan 200X Darkfield - actinophryid
Paramecium bursaria with symbiotic algae 200X DIC
Paramecium bursaria with symbiotic algae 200X DIC
Cyst - unknown organism 400X DIC, cyanophyte algae above
Cyst - unknown organism 400X DIC, cyanophyte algae above
Live Diatom 400X DIC
Live Diatom 400X DIC
Euplotes - dividing? 400X DIC
Euplotes - dividing? 400X DIC
Ciliate unknown Genus - Heterotrich 400X DIC
Ciliate unknown Genus - Heterotrich 400X DIC
Peridinium - Dinoflagellate Focus stack 630X
Peridinium - Dinoflagellate Focus stack 630X

rjlittlefield
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Re: Pond Collecting - A Safari

Post by rjlittlefield »

Very nice!

Why do you think the side-by-side Euplotes are dividing, versus conjugating?

--Rik

Robert Berdan
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Location: Calgary
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Re: Pond Collecting - A Safari

Post by Robert Berdan »

Hi Rik the two Euplotes seemed to be attached as moving one moved the other, but there are other possibilities. I have lots ciliates dividing but never seen two like this? Other possible explanations are possible, hoping maybe someone might comment. Bruce Taylor always provides interesting insights.
RB

rjlittlefield
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Re: Pond Collecting - A Safari

Post by rjlittlefield »

Robert, here's some more context for my question... I would normally take side-by-side similar ciliates to be conjugating, without thinking very hard about it. But you have shown conjugation and commented about it, for example at https://www.canadiannaturephotographer. ... C_0367.jpg in your article at https://www.canadiannaturephotographer. ... iates.html . So, I was thinking that perhaps you had seen something in this particular pair that pushed you in the direction of division instead of conjugation.

I'll be interested to hear Bruce Taylor's take on it.

--Rik

Bruce Taylor
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Re: Pond Collecting - A Safari

Post by Bruce Taylor »

Hi Rob....wow, fabulous images. That heliozoan is especially dazzling.

Fission in Euplotes is always transverse, so if you happen to see two of them stuck together side-by-side then it's either conjugation or a double monster. Here we see the outlines of two distinct cells, so conjugation it is.

The unidentified ciliate does not look like a heterotrich, to me, but a hymenostome. The cell shape and mouth location suggest Tetrahymena, but I'd want to see more views and/or specimens before saying I was sure of that. :)
It Came from the Pond (Blog): http://www.itcamefromthepond.com/

micro_pix
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Re: Pond Collecting - A Safari

Post by micro_pix »

Excellent images!

Dave

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