Tardigrades In Turkmenistan Too!

Now and then I check the Blogger stats to see where the readers here are reading from! It appears that Turkmenistan has outdone Russia in "reading" this blog about sewage in Los Osos (it used to be Russia). That should raise some red flags about who is looking at what. And I hope it is simply random snooping. Other than the reading explosion on the topic of the sewer rate increase which was a few of weeks ago now of course, my readers are usually one or two, well maybe three? on a good day.

But that is not my topic. Tardigrades (AKA water bears, moss piglets) are! And yes, they are in Turkmenistan. And right out on Los Osos Valley Road at our wastewater treatment plant...and in my back yard, and yours too most likely! What fun! They live in water, salt or fresh! They live on moss! They live on sand! There are 1100 species!

On the topic of tardigrades in wastewater, wastewater being the product that anchored the reason for this blog, here is a quote from a scientific paper on tardigrades, just so readers and bots get that there is some seriousness involved with this post.

• "The tardigrades occurred in highest abundance in the tanks containing wastewater with a higher nutrient load. Thulinius ruffoi was mainly present in well-oxygenated activated sludge and its abundance was subject to seasonal fluctuations; however, its preference for more polluted tanks seems to be consistent across the year." 

• https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/eje/4/2/article-p124.xml 

Okay, what are the physical characteristics of tardigrades? (You can see them with a low-power microscope!)

"Tardigrades belong to an elite category of animals known as extremophiles, or critters that can survive environments that most others can't. For instance, tardigrades can go up to 30 years without food or water. They can also live at temperatures as cold as absolute zero or above boiling,* at pressures six times that of the ocean’s deepest trenches, and in the vacuum of space."

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/t/tardigrades-water-bears/

Here is a photo I took on the tour of our sewer on April 27, 2016! 

I know it is hard to see, but there is a photo of a tardigrade second row from the bottom (click to enlarge).

Tardigrades are teeny! They are about 1 mm (0.04 inch) or less in size.

Now, inside the plant's lab, this beaker probably teems with tardigrades
and a few other things as well......(see the chart above).

While we are here, take a look at the cool lab! It looks like a fun place to work!

Okay, why the name? 

"The name “Tardigrade” was given to this animal in 1776 and it actually derives from the Italian for Slow Stepper, or Tardigrada."

https://www.thefactsite.com/tardigrade-facts/

Now watch a tardigrade in action!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soKvFtJRnO8 

Read about them off of these links below. And once you are fascinated, if not quite fallen in actual love with these specks, guess what—there is merchandise!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a30538168/tardigrade-water-bear-weakness/

You can drink out of a mug with a tardigrade image and there are an astounding number of vendors for such an.....esoteric......item!

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/tardigrade+mugs

https://www.zazzle.com/tardigrade+mugs

(This is my mug. Coffee tastes better in a tardigrade mug! Hopefully with no tardigrades floating in it.)

You can sew a cloth tardigrade yourself:
https://www.budsies.com/blog/guest-blog/tardigrade-stuffed-animal/

Tardigrade earrings in cheesy plastic!

Tardigrade necklace in sterling silver!

Tardigrade Hoodie!

 Tardigrade slippers!

 Tardigrade stuffed animals!

Tardigrade luggage tags!

Tardigrade phone case!

And SO much, much more!

And, there IS more, but I am tired of uploading tardigrades!

* Disputed for a certain length of time for one species of tardigrades anyway:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a30538168/tardigrade-water-bear-weakness/