Creeping Movements of Spirogyra

Abstract

THERE are several references in the literature to the movement and behaviour of masses of the alga Spirogyra when kept under water in a vessel. Hofmeister¹ described the unravelling of the filaments into wave-like hanks; this he believed to be due to the action of light. The same author, Oltmanns² and Langer³ have also described the way in which the algal threads creep considerable distances up the sides of a containing vessel. Oltmanns suggested that the latter movement might be related to a secretion of mucilage from the cells. Langer showed that it was not a growth movement, and that it took place more rapidly and vigorously in the dark than in the light.