algae_research log

the efforts of growing an alive film.

films are like plants
they can’t grow without time
and light

the only difference between plants and films is that
film is dead
and plants are alive

Would it be possible to have an alive film ?
A film that grows as it is being ?
Something that has no set form ?

Algae are a very large and diverse group of eukaryotic organismshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae. Algae are photosynthetic organisms that occur in most habitats, ranging from marine and freshwater to desert sands and from hot boiling springs to snow and ice. They vary from small, single-celled forms to complex multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps of the eastern Paci c that grow to more than 60 meters in length and form dense marine forests. Algae are found in the fossil record dating back to approximately 3 billion years in the Precambrian. They exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, from simple, asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproductionhttp://botany.si.edu/projects/algae/introduction.htm. algae is, at least the one i am living and working with, algae she is, single minded, strong minded and whole.

recipes for growing algae

if the mountain won’t come to muhammad, then victoria will go to algae.

maybe she is very big about staying where is, i move all the time, maybe we are suffering from sort of location gap. we could have different attitudes towards staying, and she is not willing to comfort with mine i should.

3 lines of 1m clear film leader were taken to Haagse Hout Park, Den Haag NL and installed in the river bank, hoping to successfully have algae grown on them

after 1 week : 2 pieces were there, one was lost
after 1 week and 3 days : all 3 pieces were gone

2 more lines of 1m clear film leader were taken to Haagse Hout Park, Den Haag NL and installed in the river bank, hoping to successfully have algae grown on them

this time extra carefull care was taken when mounting them

after 3 days: all pieces were there
after 6 days : all pieces were there
after 9 days : all pieces were gone

why do i do this to myself?

observation through november

what thought to be blooming algae turns out to be ‘duckweed’ → as a derivative it seems that there actually early any algae on the collection for the ‘oxygen set up’ Duckweeds, or water lens, are owering aquatic plants which oat on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands

there was another container collected that seemed to be a mix of algae and duckweed, dead the following day a er brought home

bottles had to be refilled with water constantly especially bottle A , bottle B was doing better in the start now acts just like bottle A dead

bottle A showed signs of fast algae growth but then remained stationary
it turns out to be some sort of slimy bio lm, not actual growth

algae from the original collection small containers A & B show proper signs of growth & seem alive

then i talked to somebody who actually knows things

through following the live life, life live research course that run in cooperation with the waag society, i was able to meet maria boto ordonez, a biologist who currently also straggles with algae growth

• it was pointed out to me,that just because bacteria are moving it doesn’t mean it’s alive
• it was also explained to me that algae likes CO2, and not oxygen, yeastwhen that was tried algae died within one week produces CO2 and linking containers with the two of them helps maximise algae growth
• oxygen set up was updated, however I decided stop refilling them bottle B & C are doing badly
• the weekly follow up showed : container C DEAD , bottle B duckweed is brown, no algae growth, container A & B show no further growth

algae under the microscope

algae of container A & B (from first collection) were examined under the microscope

algae is alive in container A, container B has been living in my bag for almost a week is not doing as well (probably from sun deprivation) however it is not completely dead

several species of algae were identified, given that algae was collected outside , it is no a clean sample :

closterium algae(few)
clamidomonas algae
dunaliella algae (swimming algae)
some sort of string algae
[made clearly visible when the bio lm was stained with methane blue dye]
a pyrenoid algae structure was found as well

the aliveness issue

during the initial collection a petri dish was also issued to contain sample & film but it was forgotten in my balcony alone side with the collection bottle it turns out they have remained alive.

no food, temperature adjustment or extra sunlight was provided, sometimes they weren’t even protected from rain however they remained alive. how ?

it seems rather bizarre, that it reinforces my idea that algae likes to be left alone, seems to grow better uninterrupted. i had the opportunity to present my algae growing process in an open evening at the waag, and someone from the audience commented that the reason why it grows so well in the aquariums it is exactly because it’s left alone and uninterrupted .

she and i aren’t all that different after all,we like to do things at are one rate and tempo.