In the vast ocean, tiny creatures called Noctiluca scintillans are making big waves. These dinoflagellates can grow and shrink depending on their environment. Scientists wanted to understand why this happens. They did experiments to see how food, temperature, and light affect the size and growth of these tiny organisms. They found that when these creatures divide, t...
Lakes are getting more and more algae blooms. This is a big problem. When algae die, they sink to the bottom. There, they rot and use up all the oxygen. This creates a bad environment for many creatures. But some worms, like Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, can handle this mess. These worms burrow around, moving the settled algae and changing the lake's chemistry. The worm...
Lakes around the world are under siege from a silent invader: cyanobacteria. These tiny, blue-green algae can multiply rapidly, creating harmful blooms that choke out other life forms and disrupt ecosystems. While much attention is given to bacteria in these scenarios, fungi are often overlooked. Yet, these often-unseen organisms play a crucial role in how lakes resp...
Have you ever heard of phytoplankton? They're tiny plants that float in the ocean and play a big role in the lives of other sea creatures. Recently, scientists in Chile asked a tough question: How do these tiny plants interact with each other and with some special ones called Pseudo-nitzschia? To answer this, they used a smart tool called Empirical Dynamic Modelling....