Disintegrating Leaf

[Don Schaeffer]

The pieces of grass that I dropped into the stagnant water have apparently been disintegrating as rhe vegetable matter decays. My guess is that what looks like cells in the water are released from the decaying leaf. They do not appear to be individual life forms as I previously thought. The decay agents, bacteria, are visible. It is strange that for a long period of time, protists have not appeared and the basic cell structure of the leaf remains intact. Does the leaf have an immunizing effect in the water?

https://youtu.be/CIJ4pzwUVKs