Lac Gilbert is a headwater lake in a valley, which protects it from the wind. It has a relatively deep hole (12 m) at one end that allows the bottom water to go anoxic over the course of the summer. The stability of the water column means that distinct bands of different communities develop in layers in the water, and also on the sediments. For instance, above the anaerobic zone that starts at 9 m depth, there is a band of Hydra on the sediments that feeds on migrating zooplankton.
The surface water is pristine and low in nutrients, so phytoplankton abundance is low, allowing light to penetrate deep into the lake. Photosynthetic pigments increase greatly in the anoxic layer, where large populations of anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria appear. Just above the oxygen-free zone, the sediments develop a dense mat of spiral cyanobacteria, Arthrospira jenneri. Their identity is given away by the thickness of the filament relative to coil length. A. jenneri, like all cyanobacteria, is facultatively anaerobic. That means it can grow in a zone that is bathed in the nutrients released by anaerobic processes.
These are images from both the water column and the sediment mat. Some are transmitted light and some are by epifluorescence. Some are unstained and some are stained with a fluorescent dye (DAPI) that makes nucleic acids fluoresce light blue. Arthrospira is blue-green by transmitted light, and red by epifluorescence. The red of epifluorescence signals the presence of chlorophyll. Sediment samples will have bright yellow particles. These are granules of polyphosphate that are stored by bacteria and that glow yellow when stained by DAPI. The deep water column samples, without DAPI, contain cyanobacteria, and also photosythetic picoplankton (red dots) that are probably photosynthetic bacteria.
The filament labelled Oscillatoria in one of the photos is orange because it contains a fluorescent auxiliary pigment, phycoerythrin. It might be another member of the Oscillatoriales, maybe Planktothrix, but there is no large Planktothrix layer in the lake.
Water sample (freshwater) was taken on 05/29/2022 using a 10 micron dip net to enrich for microorganisms.
Water Temp. 21°C
Salinity: 0
Ph: 7.5
on cherry bark. @bradenjudson are these pimples on cherry bark familiar to you?
living on a yellowish bacterium. Quite happily plates out as a mixed culture. Sporophore height 3-4mm max, unpigmented. Sparingly sub-apically branched with smaller heads but not in regular whorls. Spores cylindrical, to 6x3um, wthout polar granules. D. leptosomum/mucoroides
Very curious ermine came about 10 feet from us, then went back and killed a vole. He was bringing it to us when the dogs chased him up the side of a tor. We took the vole from the dogs and propped up the camera to lure him back.
Small playa, first three photos are the male for ID, last 2 are a seperate female as supporting information.
Coppery mat, pool in a montane fen
An old banana peel hanging in a tree covered in these red spheres, many with one or two protrusions coming out of them
Pitfall trap in broadleaf maple and sword ferns. Shepherd Creek. 6-21.xi.2023
Teneral specimen, freshly preserved, photographed through microscope. Tapped from fallen Tsuga mertensiana cone. In Burke Museum collection.
Basidiocarp: up to 1 mm wide, cup shaped when moist (first photo), light gray smooth upper surface, white tomentose lower surface which contracts into spheres covering the upper surface in dry conditions (second photo), sessile
Odor: insignificant
Taste: not sampled
Habit: gregarious
Substrate: in brown necrotic zones on the underside of a Gaultheria shallon (salal) leaf
Habitat: mixed conifer/hardwood forest dominated by Pseudotsuga menziesii and Acer macrophyllum
Elevation: 159 m
Basidiospores: amygdaliform, apiculate, avg 11.6 × 9.1 µm
Hairs: cylindrical with blunt apex, granularly encrusted, 4-5.5 µm wide
duplicate observation of plants growing in seasonal slough in second growth douglas fir and pine forest.
A: Habitat
B: Habit
C: Shoot with hooked leaves
D: Branching shoots showing variation in leaf form
E: Leaf base micrograph showing marginal teeth, costa and inflated hyaline alar cells
F: Detail of alar region
G: Detail of elongate laminal cells and toothed margin
H: Leaf cross section
I: Older stem cross section
J: Leaf tip showing teeth
Wildly popular with European honeybees. Impressively slime coated stems and leaves.
Vernally moist areas near stream, often with Isoetes, more bare mineral soil.
On S fuscum hummock. Acid mire.
Ferocious creature; left me with two bleeding fingers. Found the den and understood her anger. Hopefully lemmings don’t carry diseases or anything
Not sure. @stephanpeterson. La Perouse Bay, near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
is it bird or dergit dooberts?
Estimate one person could dig up all of the knapweed rosettes on the edge of the trail in this location in under an hour. Would reduce the risk of the weed spreading into the adjacent bluebunch wheatgrass growind on the steep slope below.
A, B – general appearance of colonies, C – groups of cells at periphery of colony, view from above, D – groups of cells at periphery of colony, lateral view. Arrowheads indicate pseudocilia.
Scales: C, D – 10 μm.
The images C and D were taken by Olga N. Boldina.
The voucher is stored in LE (LE AW00041).
Cyano? Algae? Lichen? Aquatic-- affixed to river rock forming tubes
My first butterfly of the year! Landed in this forest edge / opening I now call "The Butterfly Meadow", here in Lincoln Park, that I have been developing it as butterfly habitat, and habitat for locally lost, or locally rare plants, for about 6 years. This Satyr Comma / Anglewing failed to visit the patch of nettles I started for it, and for the 4 other Seattle butterflies that can lay eggs on it, but last year I did have one Satyr Comma, as well as one Red Admiral, lay eggs on the nettle patch! Today's Satyr Comma was right on time, as I usually see my first here just before the Spring eqinox.
Jepson Key to Amsinckia (Fiddlenecks): https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=8753
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) COMPARED TO Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii):
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bristly Fiddleneck (Amsinckia tessellata) Native, annual, stiff-bristly plant in the Borage (Boraginaceae) family that grows in sandy, gravelly soil. There are several subspecies. Inflorescence consists of golden yellow-orange, tiny, tubular flowers arranged on spike-like cymes with coiled tips. Corolla has 20 veins just above base. Peak bloom time: March-June. The back of the nutlet or "seed" is tessellate like a mosaic.
Per Jepson eFlora: "calyx lobes unequal in width, reduced to 2--4 from fusion below middle, notched at tip; corolla 8--16 mm, yellow or orange, tube 20-veined near base"
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=13151
Jepson Key to Amsinckia: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=8753
Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers (and more) https://borregowildflowers.org/?type=search&searchtype=S&family=&name=Amsinckia%20tessellata%20tessellata
Calflora https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=332
Calflora lists 16 possible species of Amsinckia: https://www.calflora.org/entry/psearch.html?namesoup=Amsinckia&countylist=any&plantcomm=any&format=photos&orderby=taxon
California Desert Wildflowers, Philip A. Munz, 1975, p. 101.
Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page (species not listed as of 3/1/24)
Baja California Plant Field Guide, Jon P. Rebman, Norman C. Roberts, 3rd. ed, 2012
Southern California Plant Communities: http://www.calflora.net/botanicalnames/plantcommunities.html
Leaf Shape and Arrangement diagrams: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leaf_morphology.svg
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
COMPARED TO
Common Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii) Native, annual plant that grows in open, disturbed areas at forest/woodland edges. Stems are bristly and ascending to erect. Leaves are linear to oblong, margins entire, surfaces sparsely hispid to hispid-hirsute. Inflorescence is shaped like the head of a fiddle (violin-like instrument). Tubular flowers are yellow and may have orange spots at the base of the 5 lobes. Peak bloom time April-August. Seeds and foliage may be poisonous to cattle.
Link to confirmed observation showing classic fiddleneck shape: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/112776149
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=13145
Jepson Key to Amsinckia: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_keys.php?key=8753
Anza-Borrego Desert Wildflowers (and more) https://borregowildflowers.org/?type=search&searchtype=S&family=&name=Amsinckia%20intermedia (lists two subspecies not one species)
Calflora https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=326
Calflora lists 16 possible species of Amsinckia: https://www.calflora.org/entry/psearch.html?namesoup=Amsinckia&countylist=any&plantcomm=any&format=photos&orderby=taxon
Flora of North America (species not listed as of 3/1/24)
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015, pp. 90-91.
Monterey County Wildflowers https://montereywildflowers.com/boraginaceae-amsinckia/
Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016, p. 332.
Oregon Flora https://oregonflora.org/taxa/index.php?taxon=2726
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Borage (Boraginaceae) Most plants in this family are bristly or sharp-hairy with hairy leaves. Leaves are alternately arranged, or a combination of alternate and opposite leaves. Leaf blades usually have a narrow shape and many are linear or lance-shaped. They are smooth-edged or toothed, and some have petioles. Most species have inflorescences that have a coiling shape (scorpioid cymes). The flower usually has a 5-lobed calyx. The corolla varies in shape from bell-shaped to tubular. There are five stamens and one style with one or two stigmas. The fruit is a drupe, sometimes fleshy.
Jepson eFlora https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=69
Saw a small orange beetle flying clumsily through the air and scooped it up with my hand. iNaturalist suggested the ID as tribe Anthophagini, from which I narrowed it down to this species using BugGuide.
The larva was found in a water sample with freshwater sponges (Spongillidae).
A water sample was taken from the shore of lake Istok. The air temperature was 24°C (75.2 °F). The sample was stored at room temperature and observed 4 days after collection.
Genuinely no idea what these white stalks are. Plant, or fungus? Slime mold? Unfortunately I didn't notice the bulbous structures at the base until I got home and looked at the photos.
Cyanobacteria forming dark, dense mats on moss growing on the ground along the trail.
Ran into the path and stopped on a rock right in front of me. Thus, this was a lucky find and one that made me very happy.
At blacklight after dark in pine-oak barrens/sand prairie complex. On a moth. ???
I have not been able to find anything similar online other than a spider found in New Zealand
On well decayed wood and in dirt in a hardwood forest
Found under my garbage can when taking the trash out. Really challenging the notion these guys need old growth forests. They likely use the artificial pond in my neighborhood for breeding.
This was first seen by @smellyturkey who's observation you can see here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200154535
I think I saw this species last year:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154667088
Habitat: Moss (Most likely Brachythecium or some similar pleurocarp) growing in a shaded wall of concrete.
Most fruiting bodies are less than a cm and have basal mycelium on the moss.
The first microscopy photo is in Melzer's reagent and the second in KOH.
Currently spores seem to grow and germinate in culture.
1 small fruit body was sequenced, but does not match the previous sequence obtained for this species. I'm inclined to think that the original sequence was contaminated as it was taken from a not so clean culture. I will update this with additional culture and fruitbody sequences. That being said, I will not upload this to genbank until I know for certain that the sequence read is good.
On another note hopefully I can find this again or can get multiple collections of this. I'll have to check the spot from last year.
If new sequences keep coming back as novel and I can't find anything in the literature I will take a crack at describing this as a new species (So long as I can get more than just ITS)
Found under a rock on a south facing ridge in the peak heat of a warm late winter afternoon by Lucas.
Clackamas County
Found this amazing little guy in the brush in my yard.