Star-shaped Desmid
Micrasterias rotata
Micrasterias rotata is a striking unicellular green alga from the order Desmidiales. The cell consists of two mirror-image semi-cells separated by a deep incision called the sinus, featuring a complex, star-shaped lobing pattern. It preferentially inhabits acidic, nutrient-poor waters such as raised bogs, where it serves as an important primary producer.
Details
Oxygen production
Produces oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis during the light phase.
Habitat function
Provides microstructures for colonization by bacteria and tiny protists.
Nutrient uptake
Absorbs dissolved inorganic nutrients directly from the water through the cell wall.
Food source for
Serves as a food base for herbivorous zooplankton.
Human use
Common model organism in cell biology research for studying morphogenesis and cell wall formation.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important primary producer in nutrient-poor aquatic ecosystems; contributes to oxygen saturation.
Natural predators
Protozoa (ciliates), small crustaceans (cladocerans), and aquatic insect larvae.
Competitor species
Other desmids of the genera Closterium or Staurastrum.
Ecosystem service
Oxygen production and carbon fixation in bog ecosystems.
Threats
Drainage of bogs, eutrophication due to fertilizer runoff, and climate change.
Scientific profile
Protection & threats
Main threats
Destruction of bog habitats through drainage, peat extraction, eutrophication (nutrient input from agriculture), and liming.