Welcome to
Wild Water Bears
I'm thrilled to welcome you to my website, a platform for me to promote my research, science, art, products, and interest in tardigrades. As a passionate scientist studying these fascinating creatures, I aim to share my knowledge and experiences with the world.
I have studied tardigrades since 2015 and earned two B.Sc. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. I earned my M.Sc. degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!). Throughout my career, I hope to inspire others to take an interest in studying tardigrades, because we know so little about them.
A fluorescence image of an Echiniscus canadensis tardigrade from Estes Park, Colorado
I collaborate with researchers at universities throughout the world and I also operate as an independent scientist.
A fluorescence image of a Minibiotus jonesorum tardigrade collected from moss at Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin with a permit from the WI DNR.
Collaborations
I have been a member of the International Society of Tardigrade Hunters since 2022. I collaborate with the ISTH founder, Dr. Thomas Boothby, and the NSF-affiliated Water and Life Interface Institute (WALII), in studying the biological process known as desiccation and doing community outreach involving tardigrade research. We analyze tardigrade communities in lichen and moss samples collected by camps of students in California, Wyoming, and Michigan.
Additionally, I have collaborated with researchers at Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland), University of Wyoming (Laramie, Wyoming), University of Colorado-Boulder (Boulder, Colorado), Baker University (Baldwin City, Kansas), and Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts).
I have also previously obtained collection permits from DNR’s in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri.
I recently created and self-published a story/picture book titled “Tardigrades in a New Light” which includes fluorescence images of tardigrades I’ve collected on my adventures throughout the United States.
It is currently available on Amazon.com.
I am currently writing multiple manuscripts for publication in science journals and two other books about my adventures hunting tardigrades, including a sequel to “Tardigrades in a New Light”.
Current citations of my academic publications:
Loeffelholz, J., Stahl, L., Momeni, S., Turberville, C. and Pienaar, J., 2021. Trichoderma infection of limno-terrestrial tardigrades. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 186, p.107677.
Momeni, S., Gąsiorek, P., Loeffelholz, J., Chtarbanova, S., Nelson, D.R., Fletcher, R.A., Michalczyk, Ł. and Pienaar, J., 2023. Green armoured tardigrades (Echiniscidae: Viridiscus), including a new species from the Southern Nearctic, exemplify problems with tardigrade variability research. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p.16329.
Loeffelholz, J., Meese, E., Giovannini, I., Ullibarri, K., Momeni, S., Merfeld, N., Wessel, J., Guidetti, R., Rebecchi, L. and Boothby, T.C., 2024. An evaluation of thermal tolerance in six tardigrade species in an active and dry state. Biology Open, pp.bio-060485.
Tardigrade Images
Services
You can collect and send me moss and lichen samples!
I will search for tardigrades in them, preserve some on microscope slides, and send them back to you. If you have a compound microscope, a tardigrade collection is great for kids, teenagers, and adult scientists.
Rates for collections are:
10 microscope slides = $45
20 microscope slides = $80
50 microscope slides = $150
100 microscope slides = $225
If your samples do not have any tardigrades, I can offer to make slides from samples I have or you can send me more samples.
Disclaimer: I only accept United States samples from private lands and 10 samples maximum.
No samples from state parks, state forests, national parks, or national forests will be accepted.
If you do not own land and want microscope slides of tardigrades, I can make them from samples I have.
Services
Directions for collecting your own samples:
-Photograph samples
-Take a screenshot of coordinates or write them down
-Collect sample and put into paper envelope
-Fold that first paper envelope in half then put it into another paper envelope (some crumbs fall out if the sample is only in one paper envelope)
-Give each sample a date and unique code (ex. initials+number like JL-001, JL-002, etc.)
-Put samples in a small package or box and send to 1122 Patch Road, Platteville, WI 53818
-Email me your images and return address at jacobloeffelholz2@gmail.com
-Pay through Paypal using my email loeffelholja@gmail.com
08/24/2024
JL-001
Services
If anything new to science is found in your samples, like a new species or new state distribution of a known species, then I will try publishing the information in a science journal. Otherwise, I will document new distribution information on a citizen science platform (e.g., iNaturalist or citsci.org). You can be credited as the collector, if you wish.
For state and federal government agencies seeking a private contract for tardigrade surveys, see contact information and contact me for private contract rates.
Contact Information
Email:
jacobloeffelholz2@gmail.com
Instagram:
wildwaterbears
For more information and resources about tardigrades, please visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
http://www.tardigrada.net/newsletter/index.htm
Tardigrades: Bears of the Moss by William R. Miller
