If you read the last blog, you know that my subject area revolves around the group of animals known as the Cnidaria. Likewise, I was determined to study them as part of my honours thesis, despite none of my university's staff having any expertise in this field. Luckily, I knew that I could get my hands on Hydra.
The best way to describe Hydra is by comparing it to a sea anemone, which I'm sure you will have at least seen once in your life. Unlike sea anemones, Hydra live in freshwater. They also tend to be a helluva lot smaller; which can make them difficult to handle. But nevertheless cute!
Originally my supervisor thought that a species survey on Scottish Hydra would be a good idea. It didn't take me long to realise that I had to move quickly if I wanted to get the work done. As my project didn't have a great budget, there was no way that I'd be able to analyse species by their DNA bar code, so I had to work on identifying them based on their stinging cells. Although that, in itself, took months and months seeing as the really old papers that described the animals couldn't agree on what was important in species identification!
By the end of those few months I knew I'd be able to do it; but I'd told my supervisor that I didn't think it would be a good idea as it would've taken too long for me to become fluent in species identification. So I'd come up with a different project idea...
As you know, the trips to Egypt enthralled me by way of all those pretty coral reefs. Those coral reefs are under threat from increasing water temperatures due to climate change which initiates a biological phenomenon known as coral bleaching - I'm sure you'll at least have heard of this, too.
Unlike most animals that rely on eating food. Corals have the ability of generating their own food through photosynthesis, just like plants. In fact, corals have algae within their stomach cells that photosynthesise. In coral bleaching the coral's buddies somehow get destroyed or expelled. And no one has been able to find a way to prevent it from happening. Although this is beginning to change.
Due to many corals being listed as endangered, it's notoriously difficult (and expensive) to remove them from their natural habitat and then subject them to potentially harmful treatments to, either, measure their response to the heat stress, or to try out new methods on the exposed corals themselves. Luckily, one species of Hydra has that sort of you-help-me-and-I'll-help-you scenario going on in its own stomach cells; and they are not endangered.
Hence why I decided to see if I could make them behave like coral when they're heat-treated.
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| Hydra circumcincta: Loch Torr, Isle of Mull, 2015 |
Originally my supervisor thought that a species survey on Scottish Hydra would be a good idea. It didn't take me long to realise that I had to move quickly if I wanted to get the work done. As my project didn't have a great budget, there was no way that I'd be able to analyse species by their DNA bar code, so I had to work on identifying them based on their stinging cells. Although that, in itself, took months and months seeing as the really old papers that described the animals couldn't agree on what was important in species identification!
By the end of those few months I knew I'd be able to do it; but I'd told my supervisor that I didn't think it would be a good idea as it would've taken too long for me to become fluent in species identification. So I'd come up with a different project idea...
As you know, the trips to Egypt enthralled me by way of all those pretty coral reefs. Those coral reefs are under threat from increasing water temperatures due to climate change which initiates a biological phenomenon known as coral bleaching - I'm sure you'll at least have heard of this, too.
Unlike most animals that rely on eating food. Corals have the ability of generating their own food through photosynthesis, just like plants. In fact, corals have algae within their stomach cells that photosynthesise. In coral bleaching the coral's buddies somehow get destroyed or expelled. And no one has been able to find a way to prevent it from happening. Although this is beginning to change.
Due to many corals being listed as endangered, it's notoriously difficult (and expensive) to remove them from their natural habitat and then subject them to potentially harmful treatments to, either, measure their response to the heat stress, or to try out new methods on the exposed corals themselves. Luckily, one species of Hydra has that sort of you-help-me-and-I'll-help-you scenario going on in its own stomach cells; and they are not endangered.
Hence why I decided to see if I could make them behave like coral when they're heat-treated.
The green colour of this Hydra species is because of the presence of algae within the animal's stomach cells. These algae produce sugar from the light energy of the sun and, thus provide both animal and plant with an abundance of food. Imagine if it were possible for us to do that! What a cool notion! As an aside, I first heard of the idea of humanoids photosynthesising on an Australian sci-fi tv series called Farscape. I'd definitely consider watching it if you're a fan of space operas!
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| My hero! Hydra viridissima: Mugdock Country Park, Glasgow, 2015 |
Near the "head" of the animal, you might be able to make out a transparent lump on the left hand side. This lump is actually a testicle, believe it or not. What's more, this species of Hydra are capable of transforming into females after being males. Whether they can transform back is currently unknown.
Now I could go on and on about my project, however I think going through it would probably be a bad idea as I'd never get this blog finished! If you want to read my thesis, it's available here.
Suffice it to say, that my project was good enough to receive an A grade. It was the first time in my life where I actually experienced true joy. I worked like I had a purpose, and the work itself was rewarding. I also managed to prove my hypothesis that Hydra viridissima did show changes in its algal densities following the thermal treatment. Proving a hypothesis in science is a major deal. One of the first things you learn about science is that 95% of your research will yield nothing but negative results. Overall it seemed that my hard work paid off.
By the way, remember earlier I told you about how I explored the possibility of surveying the different Hydra species in Scotland? I felt so encouraged by my efforts with Hydra viridissima that I decided to add a species survey component as a separate project within my overall thesis. You'll find that that's the first part of the word document above.
That part of my honours project turned out to be quite cool actually! I managed to justify a late summer break to the Isle of Mull as a result!
If you've never been to Scotland, this is one place that you have to, at least, spend a day in if you ever go. The island is fairly small compared with the Shetland Isles, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in sheer awe-inspiring beauty. Starting off from Tobermory, you can travel a short ten minute drive and you're literally in the middle of nowhere! Wild spectral moors replete with mysterious ground fog and wandering sheep pass you by as you make your journey to one of the most beautiful places in Scotland: Calgary Bay.
My dad was the one that first took me to this scenic beach. Needless to say, this was one of the times where he showed me why it was important to look after our planet. Out of all the things my father has done for me, this is, by far, the one I am most thankful for. Unfortunately for me, my field trip took place during the tail end of September 2015 which meant I wasn't able to soak up any rays or spend much time there considering how much work I had to get done.
On a personal note, the spring and summer of that year was a particularly difficult time for me emotionally. I'd come to terms with some of my own demons and that trip to Mull rebuilt my confidence and resilience.
The funny thing about the field trip was that many of the lochs that I visited, yielded very little in the way of Hydra samples! But that didn't mean that it was fruitless. On my fourth day I managed to obtain a couple from Loch Torr. Which, if you knew me, was an extremely frightening experience as it involved having to cross a dam-wall tight-rope style (I have a fear of heights, in addition to a fear of falling in freezing cold water miles away from any shelter!).
I mentioned earlier that the key to identifying Hydra was their stinging cells. So I took a number of pictures with my iPhone in order keep a record of the backbreaking work I put in.
The picture above shows you one of the slides that I photographed. When I started the project, these images didn't mean anything to me. All I saw was a collection of circles with little tubes. It always amazes me how that skill of discrimination comes to you little by little. I'll give you an example, looking at this picture just now I can see that the holotrichous isorhizae are really wide compared with the other common Hydra species of Europe. That's all I need to be able to ID the animal as Hydra circumcincta. Incidentally this is the species that all my cnidariologist predecessors kept confusing with the others. This was, of course, before they started using stinging cells as identification tools!
I also found some really beautiful examples of natural beauty down the lenses of my microscope that trip. The journey to Lochan's Airde Beinn - known by locals as the Crater Lake - was tiresome and treacherous. Freezing cold streams of water had created primitive sets of stairs which provided a respite from slogging through the muck and sludge of the field. Unfortunately this also increased the very real risk of slipping and falling down the hills you had to climb over to get to the lake. The name of the lake tells its own story. It's surrounded on all sides by hills making the lake look more like
Amon Sûl from Lord of the Rings than a sampling location for Hydra. This was one of my unsuccessful sampling days, but I did discover something that was really pretty nonetheless.
It always makes me feel really happy when I get moments like this in my work. Discovering something that you've only read about for the first time is really rewarding. That feeling is what I want to share with people. The fascination at finding something so remarkable in a place so seemingly inconsequential beats anything you can experience on a Saturday night down the pub!
The biggest surprise of all was still to come, however. One day my dad and I were walking along the bank of the Forth and Clyde Canal close to my hometown of Clydebank. As I was eager for more Hydra specimens to identify I decided to take a quick look at the floating Elodea fronds that happened to be close to one of the pontoons that were on our side of the bank. Lo and behold, I found the biggest Hydra I had ever seen! Seriously, this thing was a beast if ever I saw one! I even took a timelapse of them because I was so shocked at how motile they were in comparison to the sluggish specimens I had collected at that time. The beak shaped stenotele in the picture above was unlike any I had seen up until that date. I identified it from my overseas supervisors' paper but I still couldn't admit to myself that this was a species that hadn't been found in Scotland - let alone Britain - before!
It turned out that the species this specimen belonged to was Hydra oxycnida, a species that had only been scantily recorded in Germany and Norway. The good news was that I managed to secure my first published piece of research as a result! I was so overjoyed. I've included a link to the online PDF for any of you who would like to give it a read.
Overall, that year allowed me to finally demonstrate to myself that I was cut out for a life in science. I ate, drank and slept Hydra for eleven months, and it was the most rewarding time of my life. It helped me realise the better parts of myself.
One of the problems that I've found writing this particular instalment VotS is the fact that I've let it gather dust for far too long... I started writing this edition in the summer of 2016 and I am, only now, putting the final touches to it at the end of 2017. I'm writing this as I sit in my student accommodation at the University of Essex, where I am currently completing my masters degree before I - hopefully - gain entry into a Ph.D program next year. From then until now, it's been extremely demotivating to get rejection after rejection be that either in the form of job or Ph.D applications, which was the main driving force in starting my MSc.
I do plan to start writing this on a more regular basis though, too much cool stuff happens down here for me to not actively record my journey. Until next time...
Suffice it to say, that my project was good enough to receive an A grade. It was the first time in my life where I actually experienced true joy. I worked like I had a purpose, and the work itself was rewarding. I also managed to prove my hypothesis that Hydra viridissima did show changes in its algal densities following the thermal treatment. Proving a hypothesis in science is a major deal. One of the first things you learn about science is that 95% of your research will yield nothing but negative results. Overall it seemed that my hard work paid off.
By the way, remember earlier I told you about how I explored the possibility of surveying the different Hydra species in Scotland? I felt so encouraged by my efforts with Hydra viridissima that I decided to add a species survey component as a separate project within my overall thesis. You'll find that that's the first part of the word document above.
That part of my honours project turned out to be quite cool actually! I managed to justify a late summer break to the Isle of Mull as a result!
If you've never been to Scotland, this is one place that you have to, at least, spend a day in if you ever go. The island is fairly small compared with the Shetland Isles, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in sheer awe-inspiring beauty. Starting off from Tobermory, you can travel a short ten minute drive and you're literally in the middle of nowhere! Wild spectral moors replete with mysterious ground fog and wandering sheep pass you by as you make your journey to one of the most beautiful places in Scotland: Calgary Bay.
My dad was the one that first took me to this scenic beach. Needless to say, this was one of the times where he showed me why it was important to look after our planet. Out of all the things my father has done for me, this is, by far, the one I am most thankful for. Unfortunately for me, my field trip took place during the tail end of September 2015 which meant I wasn't able to soak up any rays or spend much time there considering how much work I had to get done.
On a personal note, the spring and summer of that year was a particularly difficult time for me emotionally. I'd come to terms with some of my own demons and that trip to Mull rebuilt my confidence and resilience.
The funny thing about the field trip was that many of the lochs that I visited, yielded very little in the way of Hydra samples! But that didn't mean that it was fruitless. On my fourth day I managed to obtain a couple from Loch Torr. Which, if you knew me, was an extremely frightening experience as it involved having to cross a dam-wall tight-rope style (I have a fear of heights, in addition to a fear of falling in freezing cold water miles away from any shelter!).
I mentioned earlier that the key to identifying Hydra was their stinging cells. So I took a number of pictures with my iPhone in order keep a record of the backbreaking work I put in.
 |
| The egg shaped cells you see are called the holotrichous isorhizae and the smaller shaped circles with the curly loops are called the desmonemes |
The picture above shows you one of the slides that I photographed. When I started the project, these images didn't mean anything to me. All I saw was a collection of circles with little tubes. It always amazes me how that skill of discrimination comes to you little by little. I'll give you an example, looking at this picture just now I can see that the holotrichous isorhizae are really wide compared with the other common Hydra species of Europe. That's all I need to be able to ID the animal as Hydra circumcincta. Incidentally this is the species that all my cnidariologist predecessors kept confusing with the others. This was, of course, before they started using stinging cells as identification tools!
I also found some really beautiful examples of natural beauty down the lenses of my microscope that trip. The journey to Lochan's Airde Beinn - known by locals as the Crater Lake - was tiresome and treacherous. Freezing cold streams of water had created primitive sets of stairs which provided a respite from slogging through the muck and sludge of the field. Unfortunately this also increased the very real risk of slipping and falling down the hills you had to climb over to get to the lake. The name of the lake tells its own story. It's surrounded on all sides by hills making the lake look more like
Amon Sûl from Lord of the Rings than a sampling location for Hydra. This was one of my unsuccessful sampling days, but I did discover something that was really pretty nonetheless.
 |
| Tabellaria: a genus of diatom that inhabit nearly all natural bodies of freshwater |
It always makes me feel really happy when I get moments like this in my work. Discovering something that you've only read about for the first time is really rewarding. That feeling is what I want to share with people. The fascination at finding something so remarkable in a place so seemingly inconsequential beats anything you can experience on a Saturday night down the pub!
 |
| Stenotele of Hydra oxycnida found in the Forth and Clyde Canal, Clydebank |
The biggest surprise of all was still to come, however. One day my dad and I were walking along the bank of the Forth and Clyde Canal close to my hometown of Clydebank. As I was eager for more Hydra specimens to identify I decided to take a quick look at the floating Elodea fronds that happened to be close to one of the pontoons that were on our side of the bank. Lo and behold, I found the biggest Hydra I had ever seen! Seriously, this thing was a beast if ever I saw one! I even took a timelapse of them because I was so shocked at how motile they were in comparison to the sluggish specimens I had collected at that time. The beak shaped stenotele in the picture above was unlike any I had seen up until that date. I identified it from my overseas supervisors' paper but I still couldn't admit to myself that this was a species that hadn't been found in Scotland - let alone Britain - before!
It turned out that the species this specimen belonged to was Hydra oxycnida, a species that had only been scantily recorded in Germany and Norway. The good news was that I managed to secure my first published piece of research as a result! I was so overjoyed. I've included a link to the online PDF for any of you who would like to give it a read.
Overall, that year allowed me to finally demonstrate to myself that I was cut out for a life in science. I ate, drank and slept Hydra for eleven months, and it was the most rewarding time of my life. It helped me realise the better parts of myself.
One of the problems that I've found writing this particular instalment VotS is the fact that I've let it gather dust for far too long... I started writing this edition in the summer of 2016 and I am, only now, putting the final touches to it at the end of 2017. I'm writing this as I sit in my student accommodation at the University of Essex, where I am currently completing my masters degree before I - hopefully - gain entry into a Ph.D program next year. From then until now, it's been extremely demotivating to get rejection after rejection be that either in the form of job or Ph.D applications, which was the main driving force in starting my MSc.
I do plan to start writing this on a more regular basis though, too much cool stuff happens down here for me to not actively record my journey. Until next time...
