The Diatomist
Klaus Kemp, taken by the natural beauty of form in microscopic, single-celled protists, masters techniques used by Victorian artists to share the subjects of his fascination with the world.
Video
Producer: Matthew Killip
Ages: All ages
Cavorting Wee Beasties
Inventor of the first practical microscope, Dutch scientist Anton Von Leeuwenhoek was awed when he viewed a magnified sample of pond water for the first time and found it teeming with “wee beasties,” which we now know as protists. Watch for yourself as single- and multi-cellular pond creatures move about and feed on Nikon’s Pond Life Video Gallery.
Videos
Producer: Nikon Instruments
Ages: All ages
Exploring Ocean’s Nursery: the Aquatic World with Philippe COusteau
Who needs seaweed? Entire marine food webs do, in fact, need seaweed to feed and shelter their members. Sargassum seaweed is a type of algae (a protist) that floats in giant masses in the oceans, serving as a nursery for sea turtles, fish, marine birds, crabs, and more.
Nature’s Cleanup Crew
Fungi and protists are just two critical members of nature’s complete cleanup crew, which also includes bacteria, arthropods, mollusks, and worms. Together, these little critters are responsible for decomposing waste and dead organisms into the ingredients needed to grow new life.