Eric Smith

<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="IMG_20190409_154532" class="wp-image-142998 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="142998" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"Pixel XL","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1554824732","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"775","shutter_speed":"0.033333","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_20190409_154532" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_142997/IMG_20190409_154532.jpg"/>
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 This photograph is of a sample from the Caltech turtle pond, which was taken on the afternoon of Monday, April 8. The sample was obtained by filling a small container with pond water and pipetting several drops of the pond water onto a sample slide. The object of interest is in the lower-middle portion of the photograph, slightly left of center.


 The object is mostly transparent, which implies it isn’t dirt, and it doesn’t have jagged, angular edges, meaning it isn’t a chip in the glass slide.


 How can we determine if the object is still alive? We could observe it for a longer period of time to see if the object moves across the slide at all. Alternatively, we could transfer the sample to a proper microscope with higher magnification and look for signs of complex life like organelles.


 There is an out-of-focus object on the slide directly to the left of the object of interest, which appears to have some color, rather than being more-or-less greyscale. One way to find out what that is would be to put the slide into a more powerful microscope to examine it more closely.


 #caltechbi1

Caltech Turtle Pond Sample

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 <img alt="IMG_20190510_150816" class="wp-image-149292 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="149292" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"Pixel XL","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1557500897","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"48","shutter_speed":"0.006415","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_20190510_150816" height="752" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_149280/IMG_20190510_150816.jpg" width="564"/>
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 The sample was collected from this rose plant, north of North Mudd and south of Kerchoff, at 3:00 PM on May 10. Sample collection was performed by gently brushing the anthers of the plant while holding a sample slide underneath.
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<figure class="wp-block-image">
 <img alt="IMG_20190510_162423" class="wp-image-149293 gcloudimg" data-attachment-id="149293" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta='{"aperture":"2","credit":"","camera":"Pixel XL","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1557505463","copyright":"","focal_length":"4.67","iso":"4344","shutter_speed":"0.066667","title":"","orientation":"1"}' data-image-title="IMG_20190510_162423" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/microcosmosdelta.appspot.com/images/transfer_149280/IMG_20190510_162423.jpg"/>
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 The pollen of the rose plant is visible as small yellow objects on the edge of the anther, as well as to the right of the anther.
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 The image above shows pollen from a rose plant outside the north entrance of North Mudd, along with an anther from the same plant. The large yellow object is the anther, and the smaller yellow objects next to it, as well as the cluster of yellow objects to the right of the anther, are pollen from the plant. The sample was obtained by brushing the anthers of the rose while holding a glass sample slide underneath. A picture of the location of the rose is above.


 There are many different species of rose, and I was unable to determine which species of rose the flower I found belongs to. The plant is in the genus Rosa, but the species is uncertain. Some questions I have about my image are:


 What distinguishing features should I look for to be able to determine the species of rose?


 Why does the pollen from the plant have the bright color that it does?


 I may be able to answer the first question by performing further research on what specific characteristics define different species of rose, and I may be able to answer the second question by comparing this pollen to samples of pollen from other roses, other flowers, and other non-flower plants to find any significant similarities or differences.

Eric Smith

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Caltech Turtle Pond Sample

Pollen from Rose Plant Outside North Mudd on Caltech Campus

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