More algae

Today we have been looking at some water we collected from a ditch yesterday. It was full of various sorts of algae (primative plants). The most frequent in the sample was this rather beautiful feathery-looking one (Draparnaldia sp.), seen here under the microscope.

Very long, fine hairs can be seen extending from the ends of the branches.

Among the strands of this alga were numerous desmids, such as the large round green one in this picture (Micrasterias sp.), diatoms, and other small algae.

Here is a larger picture of Micrasterias, showing its structure.

For more desmids, see also 28 August 2008.

Desmids

Last Saturday, while I was out walking in the hills to the south of Glasgow, I collected a sample of water from a boggy area for Fred to examine under his microscope. The water looked like green soup.

Under the microscope, we found that it was full of desmids. These are single-celled green algae. They can be seen among the strands of a filamentous alga in this image.

Algae are primative plants and include the seaweeds.