Hi all,
A couple of <"very interesting articles"> have come my way that suggests that Bladderworts (Utricularia spp.) are getting a lot of their food from algae that they've captured.
Most Utricularia spp. are a bit temperamental in the aquarium, but <"I have a lot of Utricularia gibba"> and mainly algae free tanks, so putting 2 + 2 together this could be a <"perfect business opportunity">.
The <"BotanyOne article"> also suggests that the Bladderwort might grew its own algae, but I'm not going to let that get in my way. If Donald Trump can build a wall, I can sell Utricularia gibba.
Marianne Koller-Peroutka, Thomas Lendl, Margarete Watzka, Wolfram Adlassnig; Capture of algae promotes growth and propagation in aquatic Utricularia, Annals of Botany, Volume 115, Issue 2, 1 February 2015, Pages 227–236, <"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcu236">.
cheers Darrel
A couple of <"very interesting articles"> have come my way that suggests that Bladderworts (Utricularia spp.) are getting a lot of their food from algae that they've captured.
Most Utricularia spp. are a bit temperamental in the aquarium, but <"I have a lot of Utricularia gibba"> and mainly algae free tanks, so putting 2 + 2 together this could be a <"perfect business opportunity">.
The <"BotanyOne article"> also suggests that the Bladderwort might grew its own algae, but I'm not going to let that get in my way. If Donald Trump can build a wall, I can sell Utricularia gibba.
The farming element is down to where the algae that Utricularia eats comes from. Sirová and colleagues refer back to earlier work by Jennifer Richards. She notes, among other things: “Free‐floating plants generally have at least three whorls of mature leaves before they become completely covered with algae and appear to be senescent.” if Utricularia encourages the growth of algae outside the traps, then it has a supply of food to eat close to the traps when they fire.
Ellwood NTW, Congestri R, Ceschin S. The role of phytoplankton in the diet of the bladderwort Utricularia australis R.Br. (Lentibulariaceae). Freshwater Biol. 2019;64:233–243 <"https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13212">.Sirová’s team also shows that the traps host fungi, bacteria and protozoa. The combination of guests in the trap work on degrading the plant material and then each other into a form that Utricularia can digest. The authors compare the digestive teamwork to the kind of microbial community you could find in a ruminant. They go on to say that the traps with their microbial communities “…represent unique biodiversity and activity hotspots within the nutrient-poor, dystrophic environments, in which they grow…”
Marianne Koller-Peroutka, Thomas Lendl, Margarete Watzka, Wolfram Adlassnig; Capture of algae promotes growth and propagation in aquatic Utricularia, Annals of Botany, Volume 115, Issue 2, 1 February 2015, Pages 227–236, <"https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcu236">.
cheers Darrel