Week 4: Rosemary & Jill

The Many Colors of Mammoth Hot Springs by Robby Edwards

Rosemary
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Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone

We have focused down on one ecosystem this week. The Mammoth Hot Springs of Yellowstone have the appearance of an extra-terrestrial landscape.

Revisiting Extremophiles

To speculate on a creature that could survive in an environment like Mammoth Hot Springs, I have been looking for organisms that can survive extreme temperatures. I can borrow their adaptations to systematically change a native animal of Yellowstone to create a speculative thermoacidophilic creature.

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Yeti Crab. Image: Ifremer / A. Fifis

Pompeii Worm. Image: Ifremer / Dugornay

Pompeii Worm, Alvinella pompejana
This flamboyant worm is adapted to the heat of hydrothermal vents through their feathery ‘hairs’. These insulating ‘hairs’ are actually colonies of bacteria (Nautilia profundicola) in a symbiotic relationship with the worm.

​Yeti Crab, Kiwa puravida
Similarly, the Yeti Crab has symbiotic bacterial growth that gives it its ‘hairy’ appearance. The filamentous bacteria colonies may detoxify the noxious water spewing from the hydrothermal vents. 
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Closing Thoughts
Bacterial colonies seem to be a recurring feature in our research; from the bacterial mats in the volcanic features of Yellowstone resulting in beautiful colours and textures, to the symbiotic bacterial colonies that allow animals to survive extreme temperatures and chemicals. 
A challenge of collaboration, we have found, has been the necessity to venture into other disciplines to truly marry our own. Microbiology is new to both Jill and I but it seems we must venture in to develop a believable speculative volcanic ecosystem.

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Elk at Opal Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs, Photo by Jim Peaco, 1997.

Jill
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Hello All,
This week we continued to look at ecosystems at hydrothermal vents and hot springs. I continued to work on story, did some drawing and thinking about adaptation to environment and curation of collections.

Hot Springs
Rose and I discussed the different types of hot springs (volcanic and non-volcanic) and how water is heated and mineral rich waters are cycled up to the surface. Yellowstone is a wonderful example and was central to our discussion regarding temperature, pH, microbial organisms, diversity of geysers, hot springs, and mineral deposits. We narrowed down a good starting location at the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs for some creature concept art. We are going to start with waters cool enough that larger animals can tolerate, such as these elk sensibly partaking in a warm soak. What characteristics does a creature have that can soak in warm water and walk across mineral crusts? What is their heat tolerance?

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I’ve been trying my hand at drawing my own creatures too as a way to think through adaptation to environment. We shall see if they make an appearance later. They have been good exercises for me to process my thoughts on human impacts to the environment, biodiversity, resiliency and adaption. 

Cabinet of Curiosities to Modern Museums
Since I was a young girl I collected rocks, shells, and little treasures from my time spent traveling to new places and exploring the outdoors. I loved museums and libraries and felt the most at home among these collections. How do we curate our experiences through collections? I found some interesting articles discussing the evolution of the “Kunstkammer” or “Wunderkammer” (Cabinets of Wonder or Wonder-Rooms).

"The Kunstkammer was regarded microcosm or theater of the world, and a memory theater. The Kunstkammer conveyed symbolically the patron's control of the world through its indoor, microscopic reproduction.” - Francesaco Fiorani(1)
​Collecting for the Kunstkammer-Met Museum

Cabinets of Curiosity in the 17th Century

Cabinets of Curiosity: the Web as Wunderkammer

Until next week! 

• Jill ​

1. Francesaco Fiorani, reviewing Bredecamp 1995 in Renaissance Quarterly 51.1 (Spring 1998:268-270) p 268.

Alexandre-Isidore Leroy de Barde, Minerals in Crystallization, watercolor and gouache, 1813. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.