Im doing a Winogradsky column for my science class. I already know how it works except i dont if the mud is still "live". The mud that i had collected* has dried for a week and half. I would like to know if it is still alive.
*I had gotten mud in the San Bernadino forest. The land around it was semi-covered with snow and it was about 50-70 ft from the lake near it. (dont know if this helps in determingin if the bacteria still alive).
Thanks ahead of time.
2007-01-01 09:34:11 · 1 answers · asked by Anonymous in Environment
Winos will work with sand, so your dirt might still be good but dont chance it because the chances are slim. However, to get a truly good wino you need the stinkiest, slimiest, sediment you can find. I used floodplain soil and WOW! I have worked with this simple tool quite a bit and I collected sediments in the summer and then in the winter from the same place and the diversity was much greater in the summer. There is a theory that all bacteria is ubiquitous - tho I dont agree with it. Winos take a long time to develope, and get a good sample - it will be worth your time. Take multiple samples to make multiple columns! Winos are seen as simple but really are extremely complex and illistrate very complex things. Think vareation! I dont know how old you are, but if you have acess to a sceintific article database look up The AMerican Biology teacher, vol 67, no 6, aug 2005 - there is an article "Exploring the sulfur cycle:using the winogradsky column" by Rogen, Lemke,Levandowsky,Gorrel - this article is very simple to read and yet extremely useful!
Remeber bacteria is everywhere! I <3 microbiology
2007-01-01 11:22:05 · answer #1 · answered by STL 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋