Goal 75: Today, I bought a paperback copy of Professor Betsey Dyer’s A Field Guide to Bacteria so I can become a naturalist of the microcosm. This will enable me to identify many bacteria in the field without a microscope, using a variety of obvious field marks. I plan to start reading this book very shortly and begin some prokaryote watching in the near future.
From the Introduction: “Although most people are aware that bacteria are all around us, few would guess that they produce such distinctive and accessible signs. Whether you’re walking on the beach, visiting a zoo or aquarium, buying groceries, looking for fossils, drinking beer, traipsing through a swamp, or cleaning scum from beneath a dripping outdoor faucet, you’re surrounded by bacterial field marks. You don’t need a laboratory or fancy equipment to find out what kind of bacteria are there—this guide will tell you how.”
Betsey Dyer said
Well I am honored to be an item (via the field guide to bacteria) on Thom’s remarkable list!
I was thinking about what sorts of habitats he might encounter in the mid-west, where he lives and beyond (such as San Francisco where he plans to go.)
San Francisco has remarkable bacterial communities associated with the salt and mud flats of the bay.
Also the San Francisco Exploratorium has a great appreciation for bacteria and has devoted exhibits to them.
Meanwhile in any midwest back yard, root nodules are to be found and the aroma of geosmin can be detected.
In the city, keep in mind the importance of bacteria in the great fermented cuisines of the world.