SCIENCE INTO IMAGES

The 46th chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Worms”.

Aelosoma is a freshwater annelid. It is abundant in ponds and lakes, mainly among the filamentous algae or ampong the sediment, where it feeds on organic matter and small aquatic organisms. The main characteristic of Aelosoma is the presence of tiny dots, actually droplets of oiol, covering their entire body. It moves with crawling movements thanks to the chaeta or tiny hairs at both sides of its body. The head is wide, rounded and recovered with a great amount of cilia.

This is the 46th chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 45th chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Seed shrimps”.

Ostracods or “seed shrimps” are tiny crustaceans inhabiting almost any mass of water, from oceans to lakes and even the soil of some rainforests. Most of them are no longer than 2 mm in length, but one species can reach 3 cm. Its name comes from the Greek and is related to the shell protecting its body. It is a shell mainly made of chitin and calcium carbonate. Their diet is extremely varied and varies both according to the species and the individual. Thus, we can find ostracods feeding on other animals, on submerged plants or algae and even on detritus.

This is the 45th chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 44th chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Roundworms”.

Nematodes, also known as “roundworms” are among the most abundant animals on Earth. They live in almost all environments, both aquatic and terrestrial, and have developed a huge diversity of life strategies. A lot of them feed on vegetables, other on bacteria and animals, and even there exist some parasitic species, like the filaria and trichina. The species Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the model organisms for different specialities related with biology, among them neurobiology. Some species, one of them appearing in the video, have a surprising reproduction in which males literally nail their spermatophores in the female (in the video you can see it marked with a white arrow).

This is the 44th chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 43rd chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Quiet hairyback”.

Gastrotichs, also called hairybacks due to their aspect, are microscopic animals living in both fresh and sea water. There are around 800 described species. They are mainly detrivores, and use to swim or slide on the sediment while looking for food. Their bodies are covered by thin setae confering the characteristic aspect. A very special singularity of these animals is that the number of cells of their bodies is constant. So, growth is not due to an increasing number of cells but to the enlargement of the original cells. This characteristic, shared with other animals as rotifers, is called eutely.

This is the 43rd chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 42nd chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Peaceful bottom”.

The bottom of the ponds and lagoons is a very special place. It is home to an enormous amount of life-forms that are dedicated, fundamentally, to take advantage of all the organic matter that arrives there. It is, therefore, the place where most of the recycling of matter and energy that is generated in the ecosystem takes place. Annelids, larvae and nymphs of many aquatic insects, water fleas, ostracods … all of them take advantage of the apparent tranquility of these areas to develop most of their vital activity.

This is the 42nd chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 41st chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Nasty mess”.

Larvae of the common fly (Musca domestica) are voracious feeders on any organic matter. The result of their activity is, generally, a decomposing mass, a mixture of the fluids of the decomposing matter and their own excrements. These larvae have not locomotive appendages, and they move on and inside the meal by mean of crawly movements. Their development is extraordinarily quick, and in a few days each larva will become an adult fly that will restart the cycle.

This is the 41st chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 40th chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Macro stars”.

There are already 40 videos from the series Inhabitants of the Microworld. To celebrate this, in this chapter we will show you some of the biggest protagonists we have been talking about. They are still small, sometimes VERY small, but they have a HUGE importance in our planet. THANK YOU FOR EXISTING! And THANK YOU FOR LETTING US EXIST!

This is the 40th chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.

The 39th chapter of the “Inhabitants of the microworld” series is called “Hungry worm”.

Naidids, also named detritus worms, conform a big group of microscopic annelids inhabiting both fresh and salty waters. Their food is composed by the particles of organic matter in the sediment. Some species, like that one appearing in the video, catch up the particles of food with their evaginable pharynx. This pharynx is evaginated through the mouth and has the shape of a strong balloon. In the video there have been inserted some small arrows indicating the location of that “tongue”. All these worms have a very important role in the recycling of the sediment, and are very common prey for other invertebrates and fish.

This is the 39th chapter of a series that will bring to us a video per day during this confinement forced by COVID-19.

We hope that you enjoy this initiative, which gives access to a documentary series for free to the world, and you share it with everyone you think will possibly be interested.

Science into Images’s team.