Now that I am working for GWL, I am the lucky one to see a small amount of the hydro-diversity of life created by evolution up-close. From one-cell organisms, like amoebe, to tiny 'beasts' that graze on algae. Just when you think you have seen and imagined it all, you discover new differentiations and new tiny structures of cellulair lifeforms.
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| Haplotaenium minutum at 600x Nikon Inverted Microscope Eclipse Ti-U (100w), Nikon DS-Fi1 camera, NIS Elements BR 3.22.00. Edited in Photoshop Elements 8: levels, background cooling photofilter, clearing dust particles and sharpening. Photograph: Marta Demarteau/GWL |
Thereby imagine the immense variety of cyanobacteria and phytoplankton: many of the species still need to be validated within taxonomy. New species are discovered quite regularly. Bill Bryson (2007) states that if you take up a hand full of sand in the woods, you may have 10 billions of bacteria in your hand, of which most are unknown to science (including about 1 000 000 yeasts, 200 000 hairy fungi, possibly 10 000 protozoa and a bulk of rotifer, microscopic worms and cryptozoa).
The strangest thing is, that these cellulair lifeforms have been living around us for centuries, like phytoplankton species Haplotaenium minutum and Netrium digitus*. These species live in acidic bogs, a landscape type which is quite common across the Lowlands, the Netherlands. I saw them for the very first time through the inverted microscope as small works of art, and photographed them for others to see. I have never seen or heard of these species before - I learned about the species just now. The same goes for science in relation to the many species that are not defined and validated, or discovered, yet. You could call them 'Unidentified Floating Objects'.
* Note: these species are Desmids, not cyanobacteria. Desmids are unicellular micro-organisms belonging to the green algal families of Mesotaeniaceae and Desmidiaceae.
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| Acidic bogs contain various types of phytoplankton, like Haplotaenium minutum and Netrium digitus. |
The 'unknown to science part' has to do with uncertainty: (1) some species are ignored, because we are just not looking for them, (2) we didn't inspect them close enough to see the tiny details, which take them apart from other species, (3) we may not be looking for them in the right places, although they were there for millions of years and (4) specialists in phytoplankton taxonomy are scarce and therefore defined as a dying race themselves.
So what do we do now? We can only try to discover and validate as much as possible, as long as there are specialists around. And it is essential to keep our eyes open with a lot of curiousity and attention.
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| Netrium digitus in reproduction state at 400x Nikon Inverted Microscope Eclipse Ti-U (100w), Nikon DS-Fi1 camera, NIS Elements BR 3.22.00. Edited in Photoshop Elements 8: levels, background cyan photofilter, clearing dustparticles and sharpening. Photograph: Marta Demarteau/GWL |
At GWL, I am attending a course about freshwater phytoplankton given by the expert A.T.M. Joosten. The course is of great help to learn more about taxonomy of freshwater phytoplankton. I also started a course at the Open University, called 'Biology of Cells'. How are cells organized and how do they reproduce? How do you recognize one cell from another, like the differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes? How do the cells transfer information to one another?
Finally... Evolution fascinates. Evolution creates. Life builds itself and falls apart eventually. When we look at cellulair lifeforms, the very first beginnings of life, we see a bit of history evolving before our eyes. It's a treasure to keep and behold. I do hope that specialists will be around for a while...
Literature
Bryson B (2007) Een kleine geschiedenis van bijna alles, Uitgeverij Atlas Amsterdam/Antwerpen
Coesel PFM & Meesters KJ (2007) Desmids of the Lowlands - Mesotaeniaceae and Desmidiaceae of the European Lowlands, KNNV Publishing Zeist
Huber-Pestalozzi C (1983) Das Phytoplankton des Süsswassers, 7-teil, 1 hälfte von J. Komárek und B. Fott, Sweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Stuttgart
Landesambt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordhein-Westfalen (2009) Benthische Algen öhne Diatomeen und Characeen - Bestimmungshilfe, LANUV-Arbeitsblatt 9, Recklingshause
Simons J; Lokhorst GM & Van Beem AP (1999) Bentische zoetwateralgen in Nederland, KNNV Uitgeverij Utrecht
Wołowski K & František H (2005) Atlas of Euglenophytes, VEDA|Publishing House of the Slovak Academy of Sciences
Zimmer C (2002) Evolution - The Triumph of an Idea, William Heinemann, London.
