'Vorticella in living soil - the soil food web in action'

01:06 Oct 9, 2021 1 1

'This vorticella pops into a ball twice.  I think it was scared by the rotifer that was just off the screen to the left.  A vorticella is a type of ciliate which is a single celled protozoa. The vorticella has a stalk that it uses to hold itself in place.  It uses cilia to funnel bacterial into its mouth.  Ciliates are aerobic organisms and feed on bacteria.  They are beneficial soil organisms because they cycle nutrients be eating bacteria and excreting nutrient rich waste that plant roots can absorb.  Ciliates are commonly found in compost and living soil and are an important part of the soil food web.  This vorticella is one of the typical microorganisms I find in the compost liquid I make with my AeromatiCo composter.  The AeromatiCo composter works by continuously aerating the compost with an industrial air pump that delivers 60 liters of air per minute.  Vorticella are one of many beneficial organisms that populate the organic matter and break it down into liquid compost.  I drench my garden beds and potted plants with the liquid compost which inoculates the living soil with a diverse set of microbes creating a thriving soil food web.  video details microscope: Olympus CX23 camera:  Olympus LC30 objective: 40x (400x total magnification)' 

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