A quick Foldscope session on the ferry through the fjord revealed a surprising diversity of diatoms. All from small splash pools on the ferry deck.
On the ferry was a truck loaded with nets for the salmon farms. The farms are everywhere in the fjords. Their relationship with diatoms, dinoflagellates, and other algae is extremely important and still not understood. Amazing to think how the microscopic organisms seen under the Foldscope are the basis of a food chain important not only ecologically, but very much so economically.
Our first day of sampling was close to a shellfish farm and a salmon farm, both which rely on the delicate balance of microalgae for survival and a successful harvest. We will check back in when we have surveyed the water samples and share what we find. !Goodbye from Chile¡
