It is well known that a hay infusion presents a kaleidoscopic series of phenomena from its inception until it finally reaches a stage of sterility, or, in the presence of sunlight, of practically stable equilibrium in which animals and green plants become so adjusted that a veritable microcosm exists.In an attempt to elucidate some of the complex factors involved in the faunal and floral changes of typical infusions a series of observations of a considerable number of infusions was made,l and the following conclusions, among others, were reached:1.In hay infusions, seeded with representative forms of the chief groups of Protozoa, there is a definite sequence of appearance of the dominant types at the surface of the infusion, that is, Monad, Colpoda, Hypotrichida, Paramaecium, Vorticella and Amoeba.2. The sequence of maximum numbers and of disappearance is identical with that of appearance, except that apparently the position of Amoeba advances successively from the last (sixth) place to the fifth place and then to the fourth place.3. Emphasis is put upon the strictly biological interrelations (for example, those involving food and specific excretion products) of the various forms as the most important determining factors in the observed sequence.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Lorande Loss Woodruff (1913) studied this question.