Can tardigrades ("water bears") be found in Southern California?

Question

I live in an urban area in Southern California. I have visited websites about tardigrades ("water bears") and, though they say that tardigrades can be found worldwide, they do not say where specifically. If I were to collect some moss in my local San Gabriel mountains, would I find tardigrades? How about if I collected some wet earth/moss in my backyard? Has anyone heard of someone in the San Gabriel Valley finding tardigrades?

Answer 1

I've had exactly the same problem. Looked in likely places, did not find them. Gave up. This was years ago.

If I were to look today, I might look in the Hahamongna recreation area after a good rain. I saw some interesting looking globular things in the water, but was too lazy to grab a sample and put it under a microscope. Probably water mites. Basically, look in a place that is a puddle for part of the year... sort of like a vernal pool, but without Triops which would eat anything smaller.

Answer 2

They can be found anywhere there is moisture and organic matter - leaves, moss, soil, etc. They are hard to find if you don't collect them properly. To collect a tartigrade, you need to grab a sample of the material where the tartigrade lives, and then extract the tartigrades from the sample. This can be done be rinsing the sample in a bowl, letting the sample sit in a wet bowl overnight, or putting the sample in alcohol. After extracting the tartigrades, you need to scan the bowl with a dissecting scope. Many of the tartigrades are semi-transparent, so they are very difficult to see without magnification. This link has lots of info:

Answer 3

Don't listen to these guys, there are plenty of places in Southern California where you can still find gold. There are however, many more places in Northern California to prospect that will most likely yield a bit more if you have a few spare days. Anyways, just run a google search for "gold prospecting in southern california" and it should point you to a few good places to start your search. You can also check out your local mega book store and see if they carry any books that can help. Good luck.