The Mystery Blob in #8 Pond?

Today I spent some quality time with my friend Tom, age 11, around #8 pond. Tom was here with his dad, Andy, our Assistant Superintendent. I love when Tom visits us because he always finds something cool for us to do.
Today he uncovered a mysterious blob in the eighth pond. After some work on Google, this is what Tom discovered…

Tom Drags "The Blob" to Shore



Close-up of Blob!

Tom said “hey Paul… Check this thing out!”

Upon further investigation Tom discovered that this “Jelly Blob” is actually called Pectinatella Magnifica.

This is a large colony of individual animals which eat microscopic plankton and live in a massive gelatinous ball. This grouping of organisms is estimated to have been around for over 500 million years.

Tom said that it felt like a big, slightly heavy, slimy, mushroom.

Tom Holding The Slimy Mass!

Tom and I found out that this “Blob” is actually a sign of a healthy pond environment.
If you would like to find out more about Tom’s amazing discovery, check out these links we found…
http://www.mvcommission.org/doc.php/bryozoan_blob.pdf?id=155
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=2335
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3KkxMlXyks