| Microbial mats grow in
many environments around your homes and school. They are
probably living right under your nose: in your yard, a
neighborhood park, or on school grounds! NASA scientists
are interested in the samples in your communities. With
your parent's permission, and with the help of your teacher,
see if you can find and photograph a microbial mat near
you. Remember, never go into any place you are not supposed
to be, or without permission, and don't go into any environments
that are dangerous. There are plenty of mats living in
safe places.
Your challenge is to find a microbial
mat and to take a digital photo of it and/or make a
detailed, color sketch along with a list of observations.
It is always good scientific practice to include a ruler
in the photograph as a "scale bar" so that
you can tell just from the photograph how large things
are.
Here are some examples to get you started
thinking about where to look:
|
 |
Bird bath algae can get rather thick. There is microbial
mat in the bottom of this bird bath. These algae were
used in growth experiments for a middle school science
fair project.
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
The algae on the side of the tank would probably be
more properly called a biofilm, but there are probably
mats on the rocks. Photo credit: Jan Winter
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
This garbage can is growing a lot of algae, but there
are microbial mats sticking to the sides.
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
There are microbial mats in many rain gutters.
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
There are microbial mats in many rain gutters.
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
|
|
|
Sarah found a microbial mat in her
front yard. Here are some of her photos:
|
 |
Sarah's mat was located in the standing water at the
base of this tree.
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
A closer look shows the filaments of algae and cyanobacteria
at the bottom of the hole.
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
A closeup of Sarah's mat.
The bubbles are mostly oxygen, produced by photosynthesis
of the cyanobacteria and algae. Photo credit: Sarah
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
|
We asked Sarah to send us a sample,
and here is what we saw under the microscope:
|
 |
Photomicrograph showing some
of the microorganisms present in Sarah's mat. Photo
credit: Erich Fleming
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
| |
|
 |
Photomicrograph showing some of the microorganisms present
in Sarah's mat. Photo credit: Erich Fleming
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
 |
Photomicrograph showing some of the microorganisms
present in Sarah's mat. Photo credit: Erich Fleming
Preview
Size| Publication
Size
|
