Ciliate (Nassula sp.) dying. 200x magnification. Brightfield microscopy.

 This is what happens when a ciliate (singled cell organism in the protest kingdom) dies. When conditions become unfavorable e.g. too dry, too much osmotic pressure, bad chemicals in the water, etc., the single cell of a ciliate stops moving around and begins to “bleb” (little blobs appear on the outside of the cell). Next, the cell bursts and expels everything it has eaten in addition to its organelles. This particular ciliate looks like it has consumed a lot of bacteria (looks like sand coming out of and surrounding the cell) and algae (the tiny green circles).