Music • Photography • Writing
National Parks Of The American Rockies
Yellowstone
Bacterial
Art
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Some bacterial colonies seem to reflect a cosmic influence, like this, which looks like a photo from the Hubble Space Telescope, complete with giant gas clouds, odd-shaped galaxies, and a brilliant star. The star, of course, is our own sun reflected in the small pool. But perhaps the form reflects some distant, ancient place of origin for the bacteria.
Others seem more like art-for-art's- sake, like this more abstract piece. One of the challenges for the photographer is deciding where the artistic portion is, and often I could have chosen many other compositions that would be just as interesting. Here, the different colors reflect the temperature gradients in the small stream of hot water flowing in at the top of the photo.
In some cases, the bacteria create their own medium. In the photo at left, bacteria have created an acidic environment which dissolves the calcium-rich travertine of the rocks. When gas bubbles percolate up, they stir the mixture into mud.
These works of art are never really complete, since they represent the work of living systems. I took this photo in May of 2003, thinking that it looked a little like Moby Dick from Herman Melville's classic novel. When I returned in July, 2005, I found the whale a bleached skeleton of its former self. Double click on the image to see the more recent photo; a single click will restore the original.
The constant temperature throughout the year of the hot springs in Yellowstone provide a uniquely stable environment. Bacteria seem to thrive in conditions that would quickly kill other creatures. Because of this lack of competition, bacterial mats can form, creating terraces in the slow-moving water. Such macroscopic bacterial displays are rare elsewhere.