Natural Science Forum / Biology / Microbiology / January 2005

Hi,

Your ammonia was almost certainly not 'pure' ammonia, unless you
obtained it from a laboratory somewhere, in which case, I dont think
you'd be keeping it in a jam jar (:... it was probably a solution of
ammonia and water, or an ammonium compound dissolved in water. I assume
you're talking about a household cleaner here? After a while, some of it
can evaporate away, or otherwise, the bug might just be able to live in
that concentration of ammonia. In fact, ammonia is a great source of one
of the major elements required for life - nitrogen. Many organisms can
use ammonia as a nitrogen source but most will not be able to survive
high concentrations of it. It's amazing where fungi can survive, and
where you can find them. I always like the example of the bugs that live
in the fuel/water interface in avaition fuel drums (:

Scott.