More bog desmids from Widdybank Fell
Chris Carter continues to find some amazing-looking desmids in the gungy bits of Sphagnum I've been sending him from Widdybank Fell. Last time I sent him just 2 bits of Sphagnum and he has been busy for months finding more and more species of these microscopic algae in amongst the Sphagnum - and he's not finished yet!
Here are some of his latest finds -
There is a Dutch method of assessing the conservation value of wetland sites using desmid species called the Coesel method. Based on what Chris has found so far from just 5 small samples of Sphagnum from Widdybank Fell, the site now has a score of 8 or 9 out of 10. I'm sure its only a matter of time before it reaches 10 out of 10.
John
Labels: algae, bogs, desmids, micro-organisms
posted by John and Clare O'Reilly @ 08:45
3 Comments:
how can you say that the pictures are of desmids. it can be pictures of pollen grains of some plants around that area.
can you please calrify my doubt!
Yes, some of them do look a lot like pollen grains. Desmids are a type of microscopic alga that always have lateral symmetry. But I know very little about them. There is a link to a good Desmid site on my original post about bog micro-organisms from 19/1/2008 with lots more pictures.
nice desmid pics!
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