Compost ciliate. Coloured scanning electron micrograph of a ciliate with bacteria in a compost heap. Compost is made by stacking garden waste and vegetable trimmings into a heap. The heap is degraded by various saprophytic organisms and the resulting brown, crumbly compost is used to enrich the soil. Here is a ciliated protozoan (green) that is found in the wetter regions of the heap. It beats its cilia (numerous thin processes) rapidly to capture bacteria (red and blue) to feed on. The cilia are also used for locomotion. Also involved in the decomposition of plant material are the yeast cells (brown dots). Magnification: x700 at 6x6cm size.

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