AI
Thursday, July 05, 2012 2:37:44 AM
Foraminifera .. lol .. looks a hol'y, sudsy shower cap ..
[hidden inside .. benthic foraminifera Cibicidoides vulgaris]
Introduction [bit of]
Foraminifera are found in all marine environments, they may be planktic or benthic in mode of life. The generally accepted classification of the foraminifera is based on that of Loeblich and Tappan (1964). The Order Foraminiferida (informally foraminifera) belongs to the Kingdom Protista, Subkingdom Protozoa, Phylum Sarcomastigophora, Subphylum Sarcodina, Superclass Rhizopoda, Class Granuloreticulosea. Unpicking this nomenclature tells us that foraminifera are testate (that is possessing a shell), protozoa, (single celled organisms characterised by the absence of tissues and organs), which possess granuloreticulose pseudopodia (these are thread-like extensions of the ectoplasm often including grains or tiny particles of various materials). Bi-directional cytoplasmic flow along these pseudopodia carries granules which may consist of symbiotic dinoflagellates, digestive vacuoles, mitochondria and vacuoles containing waste products; these processes are still not fully understood. In the planktic foraminifera Globigerinoides sacculifer dinoflagellate symbionts are transported out to the distal parts of rhizopodia in the morning and are returned back into the test at night. The name Foraminiferida is derived from the foramen, the connecting hole through the wall (septa) between each chamber.
[LOL .. 'OW! .. doncha love the words .. :)] .. this is easier for us ordinary guys ..
History of Study
The study of foraminifera has a long history, their first recorded "mention" is in Herodotus (fifth century BC) who noted that the limestone of the Egyptian pyramids contained the large benthic foraminifer Nummulites. In 1835 Dujardin recognised foraminifera as protozoa and shortly afterwards d'Orbigny produced the first classification. The famous 1872 HMS Challenger cruise , the first scientific oceanographic research expedition to sample the ocean floor collected so many samples that several scientists, including foraminiferologists such as H.B. Brady were still working on the material well in to the 1880's. Work on foraminifera continued throughout the 20th century, workers such as Cushman in the U.S.A and Subbotina in the Soviet Union developed the use of foraminifera as biostratigraphic tools. Later in the 20th century Loeblich and Tappan and Bolli carried out much pioneering work.
More: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GeolSci/micropal/foram.html
========
Chapter title: Protozoa
a) A list of vocabulary words is found toward the end of this document
http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol3030.htm#vocabulary
b) The protists are best defined in terms of what they are not: They are not procaryotes. They are mostly free-living and unicellular. They are not animals. They are not plants. They are not algae (though many argue that algae and protozoa ought to be grouped together). They are not fungi. They are not viruses.
c) Put another way: They typically do not have cell walls. They are not multicellular (or, if so, then colonial with minimal cellular differentiation). And, they are heterotrophs, not autotrophic (as are plants) but instead must eat other organisms (photosynthetic algae are an exception but we're avoiding lumping algae in with the protista in this discussion).
d) The need for the negative definition is to immediately focus your attention away from any consideration that protozoa should be considered a monophyletic taxon. This is because the protozoa consist of a number (actually the majority) of deeply rooted lineages found among the eucaryotes, including those that lead to the fungi, the plants, and the animals. Indeed, the take home message from the discussions presented thus far are that the niches open to unicellular eucaryotes must be numerous and long lived.
e) The majority of 16S rRNA genetic divergence (universal tree) found among eucaryotes is found within Protista. The evolutionary radiance (which presumably was associated with the16S rRNA genetic divergence) into the various niches occupied by protozoa therefore presumably occurred at or near the dawn of the eucaryotic cellular architecture. These niches have been sufficiently stable that they have maintained diverse protozoan lineages to the present.
f) As noted, some authors group together protozoa and microscopic algae. Think in this case of the algae as protozoa with chloroplasts. In this scheme the protista are "unicellular or colonial microorganisms that lack specialization into tissues." (p. 146, Talaro and Talaro, 1996) Here we will consider algae in a separate lecture, however.
g) In this lecture we will walk through descriptions of features associated with various protozoa. We will then progress to a discussion of diseases caused by protozoa. Since protozoan diseases can be very complicated and relevant, we will go through the life cycles of a few of the more important protozoan parasites including those causing malaria and giardiasis.
Continued: http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol3030.htm
========
Huge Single-Celled Organisms Spotted at Record Breaking Six Miles Under Water
Mariana Trench Ocean single-celled organism world's largest xenophyophores
by Max Eddy | 12:41 pm, October 25th, 2011
If you haven’t heard of xenophyophores, you’re probably in good company. First thought to be sea sponges, these ocean dwellers have been tossed around taxanomically for nearly a century until finally settling into their role as the world’s largest single-celled organism. A recent expedition to the Mariana Trench by National Geographic spotted the strange creatures some six miles under the ocean, the greatest depth at which xenophyophores have been found.
Though they come in different shapes and sizes, xenophyophores are widely distributed throughout the world and can live in truly brutal conditions. This is partly due to their ability to eat sediment and tolerate high levels of heavy metals like uranium. In addition to their weird single-celled status, these creatures also secrete a kind of organic cement and build their bodies out of whatever is lying around nearby. Amazingly, they can grow to pretty spectacular sizes. The ones recently found in the Mariana were about four inches wide, and they were not even the largest on record.
The video is blurry, but the science is amazing.
http://www.geekosystem.com/single-cell-under-the-sea/
See also ..
Marine ecology: Attack of the blobs
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=71714104
Explosive Underwater Eruptions Are Deepest Yet Seen
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=68235887
Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards
/read_msg.aspx?message_id=66821790
and 4 tippy-tap hopping stones downstream of it
iMmINeNt RApTUre -- precisely
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=66834872
[hidden inside .. benthic foraminifera Cibicidoides vulgaris]
Introduction [bit of]
Foraminifera are found in all marine environments, they may be planktic or benthic in mode of life. The generally accepted classification of the foraminifera is based on that of Loeblich and Tappan (1964). The Order Foraminiferida (informally foraminifera) belongs to the Kingdom Protista, Subkingdom Protozoa, Phylum Sarcomastigophora, Subphylum Sarcodina, Superclass Rhizopoda, Class Granuloreticulosea. Unpicking this nomenclature tells us that foraminifera are testate (that is possessing a shell), protozoa, (single celled organisms characterised by the absence of tissues and organs), which possess granuloreticulose pseudopodia (these are thread-like extensions of the ectoplasm often including grains or tiny particles of various materials). Bi-directional cytoplasmic flow along these pseudopodia carries granules which may consist of symbiotic dinoflagellates, digestive vacuoles, mitochondria and vacuoles containing waste products; these processes are still not fully understood. In the planktic foraminifera Globigerinoides sacculifer dinoflagellate symbionts are transported out to the distal parts of rhizopodia in the morning and are returned back into the test at night. The name Foraminiferida is derived from the foramen, the connecting hole through the wall (septa) between each chamber.
[LOL .. 'OW! .. doncha love the words .. :)] .. this is easier for us ordinary guys ..
History of Study
The study of foraminifera has a long history, their first recorded "mention" is in Herodotus (fifth century BC) who noted that the limestone of the Egyptian pyramids contained the large benthic foraminifer Nummulites. In 1835 Dujardin recognised foraminifera as protozoa and shortly afterwards d'Orbigny produced the first classification. The famous 1872 HMS Challenger cruise , the first scientific oceanographic research expedition to sample the ocean floor collected so many samples that several scientists, including foraminiferologists such as H.B. Brady were still working on the material well in to the 1880's. Work on foraminifera continued throughout the 20th century, workers such as Cushman in the U.S.A and Subbotina in the Soviet Union developed the use of foraminifera as biostratigraphic tools. Later in the 20th century Loeblich and Tappan and Bolli carried out much pioneering work.
More: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GeolSci/micropal/foram.html
========
Chapter title: Protozoa
a) A list of vocabulary words is found toward the end of this document
http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol3030.htm#vocabulary
b) The protists are best defined in terms of what they are not: They are not procaryotes. They are mostly free-living and unicellular. They are not animals. They are not plants. They are not algae (though many argue that algae and protozoa ought to be grouped together). They are not fungi. They are not viruses.
c) Put another way: They typically do not have cell walls. They are not multicellular (or, if so, then colonial with minimal cellular differentiation). And, they are heterotrophs, not autotrophic (as are plants) but instead must eat other organisms (photosynthetic algae are an exception but we're avoiding lumping algae in with the protista in this discussion).
d) The need for the negative definition is to immediately focus your attention away from any consideration that protozoa should be considered a monophyletic taxon. This is because the protozoa consist of a number (actually the majority) of deeply rooted lineages found among the eucaryotes, including those that lead to the fungi, the plants, and the animals. Indeed, the take home message from the discussions presented thus far are that the niches open to unicellular eucaryotes must be numerous and long lived.
e) The majority of 16S rRNA genetic divergence (universal tree) found among eucaryotes is found within Protista. The evolutionary radiance (which presumably was associated with the16S rRNA genetic divergence) into the various niches occupied by protozoa therefore presumably occurred at or near the dawn of the eucaryotic cellular architecture. These niches have been sufficiently stable that they have maintained diverse protozoan lineages to the present.
f) As noted, some authors group together protozoa and microscopic algae. Think in this case of the algae as protozoa with chloroplasts. In this scheme the protista are "unicellular or colonial microorganisms that lack specialization into tissues." (p. 146, Talaro and Talaro, 1996) Here we will consider algae in a separate lecture, however.
g) In this lecture we will walk through descriptions of features associated with various protozoa. We will then progress to a discussion of diseases caused by protozoa. Since protozoan diseases can be very complicated and relevant, we will go through the life cycles of a few of the more important protozoan parasites including those causing malaria and giardiasis.
Continued: http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol3030.htm
========
Huge Single-Celled Organisms Spotted at Record Breaking Six Miles Under Water
Mariana Trench Ocean single-celled organism world's largest xenophyophores
by Max Eddy | 12:41 pm, October 25th, 2011
If you haven’t heard of xenophyophores, you’re probably in good company. First thought to be sea sponges, these ocean dwellers have been tossed around taxanomically for nearly a century until finally settling into their role as the world’s largest single-celled organism. A recent expedition to the Mariana Trench by National Geographic spotted the strange creatures some six miles under the ocean, the greatest depth at which xenophyophores have been found.
Though they come in different shapes and sizes, xenophyophores are widely distributed throughout the world and can live in truly brutal conditions. This is partly due to their ability to eat sediment and tolerate high levels of heavy metals like uranium. In addition to their weird single-celled status, these creatures also secrete a kind of organic cement and build their bodies out of whatever is lying around nearby. Amazingly, they can grow to pretty spectacular sizes. The ones recently found in the Mariana were about four inches wide, and they were not even the largest on record.
The video is blurry, but the science is amazing.
http://www.geekosystem.com/single-cell-under-the-sea/
See also ..
Marine ecology: Attack of the blobs
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=71714104
Explosive Underwater Eruptions Are Deepest Yet Seen
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=68235887
Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards
/read_msg.aspx?message_id=66821790
and 4 tippy-tap hopping stones downstream of it
iMmINeNt RApTUre -- precisely
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=66834872
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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