FOUND: Korean Daphnia! [Video]

Wish for Korean zooplankton fulfilled! Went to check out Nami Island yesterday, and came across this shallow pond:

Upon closer inspection, it was clear the place was popping with plankton! Check out the short clip below. Watched them zoom around for a bit, then examined a few up close with the naked eye. A couple of them had ~20-30 eggs in their broodsacs.

I'm super happy! :D
 

Missing zooplankton... [Video Clips]

That's it, as the title says.

Nine and a half months into my stay in Seoul, I miss these tiny critters. Took a brief trip out of the city yesterday, and found myself wishing I had a plankton net to see what I could pull up out of the reservoir! Will have to seek out some Korean plankton very soon now that nice weather is upon us.

With that, I'll leave you with some random clips starring zooplankton...enjoy!

First, my favourite zooplankter (I'm biased) and also a serious problem in some parts of the world, the spiny water flea (2 parts):

Daphnia "playing with Volvox":

Super-cool bioluminescent plankton in a Maldivian Lagoon:

'The Secret Life of Plankton' by Tierney Thys (via TEDEducation)...nicely done:

[Photolog] Misc. 'scope shots

Pulled out my trusty--albeit dusty--dissecting 'scope to take close-ups of some everyday objects around my apartment...thought I'd share the results. :)

Photos were taken with my Canon PowerShot G12 through the 'scope's eyepiece at whichever magnification yielded what I thought to be the most picturesque perspective.

MAC makeup brush (not cleaned).

Feather.

Pepita.

Leather.

Almond.

Walnut.

10,000 won bill.

An ode to the spiny water flea

This post is about a special kind of relationship...that is, the [sometimes] love-hate relationship that invariably develops between a grad student and his/her study organism. 

<geekmode>

For yours truly, it was the tiny but mighty spiny water flea, Bythotrephes longimanus. Measuring all of a centimetre long (give or take a few millimetres), they're definitely no charismatic megafauna. Quite the opposite actually - they can be downright ugly to some. 

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

Being native to much of Europe and Asia, spiny water fleas have wreaked havoc on many a freshwater ecosystem in North America. As such, I devoted almost six years of my life finding out all I could about these predatory plankton--from what fuels them to what weakens them. Despite the negative stereotypes that invasive species are often branded with, I couldn't help but develop a special fondness for spiny water fleas over the years. I did, after all, spend many days in the lab feeding and cleaning up after them...as well as many nights waiting with bated breath for pregnant mothers to give birth. I'll admit...I'd silently thrill at the sight of a fat juicy broodsac.

And as August fades away, so will many of the invasive spiny water flea populations back home. I can't help but wonder what the yields were like this year, especially given the unusually warm weather (note: spiny water fleas are like humans in that they prefer room temperature - I found they seemed happiest in 21ºC water). Were they eating enough? Did they build up their resting egg banks enough to come back with a vengeance next spring? Did they find new lakes to invade?

Since my printed dissertation containing the following dedication (p. xi) to these powerpuff plankton will likely lie in a dusty corner unopened, I'm gonna go out on a limb and declare my admiration for these organisms (despite their bad rap!)...right here on my own desolate cyber turf.

(Note: this ode served to summarize much of what I discovered about spiny water fleas over the course of my studies. Also, I'm no poet.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An ode to the spiny water flea 

For this is the story of your life,
One of success, but initially strife.
Confined to a ship ballast*, it’s lipids you lack,
An immigrant from Russia, only a broodsac on your back. 
Straining your eye in the dark, you swim feebly forward, 
Spot a glimmer of movement, flex your spine like a sword. 
Looping and spiraling with renewed anticipation,
You grasp your spent sister and proceed to the decapitation. 
With the elixir of life flowing dark through your gut, 
Naturally selected to endure—no if’s, and’s, or but’s!
When at long last, is that sunlight you see?
Discharged into the New World...yet it seems habitable, seriously. 
Your feverish palate delights at the unsuspecting buffet,
And you feast on bosminids ‘till your broodsac ruptures away. 
Moonlight is glistening on the warm surface waters,
As you rise and release (in your image) two beautiful daughters. 
On you persist while another broodsac blisters,
A week later, it’s a boy, and his hefty twin sisters.
You’re senescent and tired, but now it’s okay,
You sink to the sediments where just your soft parts decay.
To be found decades later by keen scientists,
Intrigued by your life story, a plot thick with twists.
It’s here I digress, and feel the need to pay tribute,
Without the sacrifice of your descendants, this story would stay mute. 
You’ve left a legacy far longer than your spine,
Been the star of countless chapters, six of them mine**.
Spaseeba. 

* Bythotrephes was most likely transported to North America in ballast tanks as diapausing resting eggs, not as live organisms. Dramatization for creative purposes only.
** And for that I thank the chubby shrimp, the ones hatched in brine. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

</geekmode>

#BLACKOUTSPEAKOUT

For more info: www.blackoutspeakout.ca/about.php

Defend Canada's democracy and environment from Bill C-38 - take 2 seconds to sign the petition! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/286/802/967/

Save the Experimental Lakes Area

Just a short and sweet post for a worthy cause - saving the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA).

You may have heard that the Canadian government is planning to shut down the ELA, a one-of-a-kind research facility from where >1,000 freshwater studies have originated (some highlighted here) over the past 40+ years. This would be a seriously short-sighted move given the highly practical work conducted here (e.g., the impacts of acid rain, nutrient inputs, climate change, and toxic chemicals on ecosystems, to name a few...which paves the way for improved environmental policies). 

Since a picture's worth 1000 words, here's an example of the important research conducted at the ELA:

This now-iconic textbook image from an experiment in 1973 reveals that adding phosphorus to lake water leads to unsightly algal blooms. Result = widespread bans on phosphates in household detergents. (Photo: Fisheries & Oceans Canada)

Freshwater is one of this country's most precious resources, so we should be finding ways to protect what we've got, NOT turning a blind eye (as seems to be the trend these days, even in the oceans)! 

Water = life. 

Healthy lakes = healthy humans. 

Without any further ado, I'll refer you to this newly-launched website, which sums up why the ELA is important, compiles links to some recent media coverage on the ELA closure, and suggests ways on how to make your voice heard.

Please also take a minute to sign the online petition (anyone can sign): http://www.thepetitionsite.com/355/851/152/save-the-experimental-lakes-area/

(Note to Canadians that this online petition won't go to parliament)

The petition going to Parliament is available for download/printing here (you must be a Canadian resident, but there's no age restriction):
http://saveeladotorg.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/save_ela_petition.pdf

Please help spread the word!