Martyn Kelly - Walking with Diatoms скачать в хорошем качестве

Martyn Kelly - Walking with Diatoms

In this talk, Martyn bridges the gap between “quantitative” and “qualitative” views of freshwater biofilms. The “quantitative” approach has proved very fruitful, giving us powerful methods for evaluating stream condition and underpinning regulatory decisions. However, the abstract view of stream conditions that this generates is difficult to convey to the stakeholders who are expected to foot the bill for improvements. For the past twenty five years Martyn has been using illustrations to place the empty silica valves that are the raw material of most contemporary diatom analysis into context as elements of living, thriving ecological communities. The original driver was simply to help people in training to understand more about diatom ecology. However, this subsequently broadened out into a means of conveying the beauty and complexity of microscopic communities to wider audiences. This, in turn, led to recognition of the aesthetic potential of such representations in their own right but, also, into using these as “thought experiments” for how diatoms and other algae and Cyanobacteria interact in lakes and streams. #science #nature #art #communication #aquatic #river #algae #diatoms