Abstract
IN the Notes in NATURE for September 29, 1921 (vol. 108, p. 163), it is mentioned that Mr. J. W. Williams and Mr. H. Weaver have found the curious organ-pipe diatom, Bacillaria paradoxa, in canals and pools in Staffordshire and Worcestershire. It may be of further interest to note that while leading a party of field naturalists on a seaside expedition to Altona Bay, near Melbourne, some years ago (Victorian Naturalist, vol. xxxiv., June 1917, p. 16), we found this same diatom very abundantly both in the sea and up the Kororoit Creek for a good distance, where the water was only slightly brackish. On examining the finds at home I was struck with the fact that, whereas the marine form was very active in its peculiar sliding movement, the brackish form was sluggish in contrast. It would be interesting to know whether other observers have found the fresh water to act as an agent for “slowing down.” Probably the saline conditions of the water assisted the osmotic pressure which may induce the movement.
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CHAPMAN, F. Distribution of the Organ-Pipe Diatom, Bacillaria paradoxa. Nature 111, 15 (1923). https://doi.org/10.1038/111015b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/111015b0
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