<< But now that the subject of bryozoans has
come up again I forgot to mention that on our Cranberry Lake trip Mike and I
found something of that order growing on various sticks, roots and other
objects
in the lake. It looks very much like something I saw once in Maryland - the
kind
that grows into basketball sized nodules that often protrude from stagnant
waters.
This is the first time I've noticed this stuff at Cranberry, but I saw
something
similar blanketing the undersides of a floating dock at Greenlick Lake right
here
in my own backyard. The color is a transluscent pinkish brown and the
structure
is divided into individual cells like oversized kernels of corn or an even
better
description - gelatinous mass like frog eggs! >>
<< I don't know what they are exactly but I collected a couple of plum sized
nodules
by scooping them up in a discarded bait container and brought them home. I'm
going to attempt to keep them alive at least long enough to study them a bit.
Interesting notes so far - these colonial organisms are mircocosyms themselves
supporting a number of other comensual organisms - so far red worms (midge
larvae) and mayfly nymphs. And who knows what else.>>
Very interesting. I wish you luck with your specimens; mine started to
deteriorate daily after removing them.They lost their interesting brain coral
appearance ( which I attribute to removal from the water with too small of a
net, as well as handling in general) and ended up looking like gray globs of
mush. These things being gelatinous are of course delicate and fall apart
easily.Last time I went to the vernal pool I got them from they were not to
be seen and the pool was halfway dried up.
The fact that your specimen harbored insect larvae reminds me of the
freshwater sponges which house spongilla fly larvae. Let us know how you end
up doing with your bryozoans.
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