This semester I'm taking an Ecology of Mosses class with the ever-wise Professor Kimmerer. This class has opened my eyes to the wonderful home of the waterbear. While tiny in comparison to vascular plants they form their own "forests" full of complex habitats and organisms. It now takes me even longer to go on walks now because eI must crouch down and check out the mosses all around me. I was opened up to a whole new perspective of the world. Now this may sound a bit odd, that a moss could change my world-view, but when you take into account the extreme complexity of these mosses and their significance on the planet, it is hard to ignore them. They provide protection form soil erosion, sponge up water that would normally run-off, effectively saving it for other plants and animals to utilize. They also provide a safe place for other plants to grow and are the home of thousands of different micro-invertebrates, larvae, mollusks, and a whole other host of microorganisms.
I could probably talk about mosses all day if given the chance and a willing ear. They are fascinating plants with much more complexity than I could have ever imagined before taking this class. One of my favorite organisms that live among mosses are waterbears. In Kimmerer's book "The Gathering Moss" she describes them as trundling, which is to "To move along by or as if by rolling or spinning". So I imagine these round eight-legged globs equipped with little claws rolling around in the moss. These creatures are known to withstand some of the harshest environments on the planet, in the arctics and the even the vaccums of space. impressive for something about 0.8 mm in length. So when you have the time take the chance to look at these fascinating plants up close and personal: into the realm of the waterbear.
