Think you can puzzle your way in?
The Purple Pitcher Plant Escape
Start
Introduction
You've slipped into the digestive vat of the Purple Pitcher Plant! The plant needs your nitrogen, but can't digest your hard exoskeleton alone. navigate the microbial food web, survive the keystone predators, and be assimilated to win!
LEVEL 1: The Acid Bath
The Acid Bath
You are floating in the upper fluid of the pitcher plant. You need the primary decomposers to break down your armor.
00:15
00:15
00:15
00:15
LEVEL 2: Benthic Zone
Benthic Zone
You have ventured into the deepest darkness of the pitcher leaf's detritus layer. Drag the spotlight to naviage the micro-geography!
00:15
Find the correct answer by dragging and clicking the word you find!The upper pitcher fluid is filled with oxygen. What do we call this type of enviornment
Frozen
Toxic
Aerobic
Drag the spotlight!
Anerobic
00:15
Find the correct answerYou've hit the bottom sediment layer made of dead insects. What is this dark zone called?
Pelagic
Benthic Zone
Tundra
Twilight Zone
00:15
Find the correct answerBecause Oxygen is depleted at the bottom, what condition defines that bacterial communities living here?
Anaerobic
Magnetic
Photosynthetic
4/4
00:15
Find the correct answerTrue or False: The bacterial communities on the oxygenated pitcher walls are identical to the ones in the bottom sediment
False
True
LEVEL 3: The Leviathan
Enter the Leviathan
A massive Wyeomyia smithii (mosquito larva) is grazing! Balance the microbial populations to prevent ecosystem collapse before time runs out!
00:15
2/4
00:15
3/4
00:15
4/4
00:15
LEVEL 4: Nitrogen Bottleneck
The Nitrogen Bottleneck
You are finally broken down into usable 15N nitrogen, but you must choose the right path to reach the plant!
Observe the images and respondWhere does your nitrogen go first immediately after mineralization?
Bacterial Cell
Plant Roots
00:15
Observe the images and respondWhat causes the "time-lag" in the plant getting its meal
00:15
Microbes Hoarding
Blocked Stem
Observe the images and respondOnce the microbes die and release you, who finally absorbs the nitrogen?
Plant Tissue
Evaporation
00:15
Observe the images and respondUltimately, what is the relationship between the microbes and the plant reguarding initial nitrogen?
Tug-of-war
00:15
Gift Box
LEVEL 5: Global Mirror
The Global Mirror
You are experiencing Convergent Evolution! The micro-ecosystem is repeating globally. Match the organism to its role to progress.
Drag the ecological roles to their corresponding organisms
Solution
Wyeomyia smithii
Proteobacteria
Insect
2. Primary Decomposer
3. Nutrient Input
1.Keystone Predator
Match the Asian Nepenthes equivalents of role to organism
Midge Larva
Nephenthes Microbiome
Ants
1. Primary Decomposer
2. Nutrient Input
3. Keystone Predator
Match the habitat zones using the pitcher plant diagram for reference!
Ants
Surface Fluid
Bottom Detritus
Pitcher Leaf
1. Host Bioreactor
2. Aerobic Zone
3. Anaerobic Zone
Match the evolutionary outcomes
Sarracenia & Nepenthes
Microbe vs Plant
1. Resource Competition
2. Convergent Evolution
Assimilation (Final boss)
Assimilation Boss Battle
The final barrier! Prove you understand the inquiline ecosystem to be assimilated into the host plant!
VS
Let's go!
00:15
00:15
00:15
You have successfully navigated the food web! Come on, use the key to be assimilated!
Pick a chest and see where your nitrogen will end up!
Congratulations!
You have been successfully assimilated! Your nitrogen has powered the growth of a brand new pitcher trap, ready to start the cycle all over again.
Start over
Wow!
your nitrogen was diverted to bloom a beautiful Sarracenia flower! You are now helping the plant attract pollinators to reproduce.
Start over
What a surprise!
Your nitrogen has been packed into a seed. You will soon be scattered by the wind to become an entirely new generation of pitcher plants!
Start over
References:
Bittleston, L. S., Pierce, N. E., Ellison, A. M., & Pringle, A. (2016). Convergence in Multispecies Interactions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(4), 269–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.01.006 Butler, J. L., Gotelli, N. J., & Ellison, A. M. (2008). Linking the brown and green: Nutrient transformation and fate in the Sarracenia microecosystem. Ecology, 89(4), 898–904. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0771.1 Grothjan, J. J., & Young, E. B. (2019). Diverse microbial communities hosted by the model carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea: analysis of both bacterial and eukaryotic composition across distinct host plant populations. PeerJ, 7, e6392. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6392 Krieger, J. R., & Kourtev, P. S. (2012). Bacterial diversity in three distinct sub-habitats within the pitchers of the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 79(3), 555–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01240.x Peterson, C. N., et al. (2008). A keystone predator controls bacterial diversity in the pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea) microecosystem. Environmental Microbiology, 10(9), 2257–2266. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01648.x
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Continue
B - 1
A - 2
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
B - 1
C - 2
A - 3
Continue
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
A - 2
B - 3
C -1
Continue
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Try again!
Try again!
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
B - 2
A - 1
C - 3
Continue
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Correct!
The answer is Aerobic. The surface fluid is exposed to the air, creating a highly oxygenated environment for specific surface-dwelling bacteria to thrive!
Continue
Correct!
The answer is the Benthic zone. As you sink into the detritus graveyard at the bottom of the pitcher, you enter a completely different physical neighborhood!
Continue
Correct!
The answer is Anaerobic. Buried under all that decomposing matter, oxygen is blocked out. The bacteria here have adapted to survive in an entirely oxygen-free world.
Continue
Correct!
The answer is False. The pitcher is a highly stratified landscape. The bacterial communities clinging to the walls are distinct from those in the muck at the bottom!
Continue
Correct!
The answer is the Bacterial Cell. Microbes are greedy. They quickly mineralize your nitrogen but lock it away inside their own cells to grow before the plant gets a single drop!
Continue
Correct!
he answer is Microbes Hoarding. This creates a nutrient time-lag. The microbes act as a competitive sink, holding onto the nutrients and delaying the host plant's meal.
Continue
Correct!
The answer is Plant Tissue. As the bacterial lifecycle ends and they die off, they release their stored nitrogen, acting as a delayed nutrient source for the plant.
Continue
Correct!
The answer is the Tug-of-War. It's a classic competition. The plant provides the trap, but it still has to fight its own microbial guests for the very nutrients it caught!
Continue
The Purple Pitcher Plant Escape
Jaida Izen
Created on March 12, 2026
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Transcript
Think you can puzzle your way in?
The Purple Pitcher Plant Escape
Start
Introduction
You've slipped into the digestive vat of the Purple Pitcher Plant! The plant needs your nitrogen, but can't digest your hard exoskeleton alone. navigate the microbial food web, survive the keystone predators, and be assimilated to win!
LEVEL 1: The Acid Bath
The Acid Bath
You are floating in the upper fluid of the pitcher plant. You need the primary decomposers to break down your armor.
00:15
00:15
00:15
00:15
LEVEL 2: Benthic Zone
Benthic Zone
You have ventured into the deepest darkness of the pitcher leaf's detritus layer. Drag the spotlight to naviage the micro-geography!
00:15
Find the correct answer by dragging and clicking the word you find!The upper pitcher fluid is filled with oxygen. What do we call this type of enviornment
Frozen
Toxic
Aerobic
Drag the spotlight!
Anerobic
00:15
Find the correct answerYou've hit the bottom sediment layer made of dead insects. What is this dark zone called?
Pelagic
Benthic Zone
Tundra
Twilight Zone
00:15
Find the correct answerBecause Oxygen is depleted at the bottom, what condition defines that bacterial communities living here?
Anaerobic
Magnetic
Photosynthetic
4/4
00:15
Find the correct answerTrue or False: The bacterial communities on the oxygenated pitcher walls are identical to the ones in the bottom sediment
False
True
LEVEL 3: The Leviathan
Enter the Leviathan
A massive Wyeomyia smithii (mosquito larva) is grazing! Balance the microbial populations to prevent ecosystem collapse before time runs out!
00:15
2/4
00:15
3/4
00:15
4/4
00:15
LEVEL 4: Nitrogen Bottleneck
The Nitrogen Bottleneck
You are finally broken down into usable 15N nitrogen, but you must choose the right path to reach the plant!
Observe the images and respondWhere does your nitrogen go first immediately after mineralization?
Bacterial Cell
Plant Roots
00:15
Observe the images and respondWhat causes the "time-lag" in the plant getting its meal
00:15
Microbes Hoarding
Blocked Stem
Observe the images and respondOnce the microbes die and release you, who finally absorbs the nitrogen?
Plant Tissue
Evaporation
00:15
Observe the images and respondUltimately, what is the relationship between the microbes and the plant reguarding initial nitrogen?
Tug-of-war
00:15
Gift Box
LEVEL 5: Global Mirror
The Global Mirror
You are experiencing Convergent Evolution! The micro-ecosystem is repeating globally. Match the organism to its role to progress.
Drag the ecological roles to their corresponding organisms
Solution
Wyeomyia smithii
Proteobacteria
Insect
2. Primary Decomposer
3. Nutrient Input
1.Keystone Predator
Match the Asian Nepenthes equivalents of role to organism
Midge Larva
Nephenthes Microbiome
Ants
1. Primary Decomposer
2. Nutrient Input
3. Keystone Predator
Match the habitat zones using the pitcher plant diagram for reference!
Ants
Surface Fluid
Bottom Detritus
Pitcher Leaf
1. Host Bioreactor
2. Aerobic Zone
3. Anaerobic Zone
Match the evolutionary outcomes
Sarracenia & Nepenthes
Microbe vs Plant
1. Resource Competition
2. Convergent Evolution
Assimilation (Final boss)
Assimilation Boss Battle
The final barrier! Prove you understand the inquiline ecosystem to be assimilated into the host plant!
VS
Let's go!
00:15
00:15
00:15
You have successfully navigated the food web! Come on, use the key to be assimilated!
Pick a chest and see where your nitrogen will end up!
Congratulations!
You have been successfully assimilated! Your nitrogen has powered the growth of a brand new pitcher trap, ready to start the cycle all over again.
Start over
Wow!
your nitrogen was diverted to bloom a beautiful Sarracenia flower! You are now helping the plant attract pollinators to reproduce.
Start over
What a surprise!
Your nitrogen has been packed into a seed. You will soon be scattered by the wind to become an entirely new generation of pitcher plants!
Start over
References:
Bittleston, L. S., Pierce, N. E., Ellison, A. M., & Pringle, A. (2016). Convergence in Multispecies Interactions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(4), 269–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.01.006 Butler, J. L., Gotelli, N. J., & Ellison, A. M. (2008). Linking the brown and green: Nutrient transformation and fate in the Sarracenia microecosystem. Ecology, 89(4), 898–904. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0771.1 Grothjan, J. J., & Young, E. B. (2019). Diverse microbial communities hosted by the model carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea: analysis of both bacterial and eukaryotic composition across distinct host plant populations. PeerJ, 7, e6392. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6392 Krieger, J. R., & Kourtev, P. S. (2012). Bacterial diversity in three distinct sub-habitats within the pitchers of the northern pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 79(3), 555–567. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01240.x Peterson, C. N., et al. (2008). A keystone predator controls bacterial diversity in the pitcher-plant (Sarracenia purpurea) microecosystem. Environmental Microbiology, 10(9), 2257–2266. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01648.x
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Continue
B - 1
A - 2
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
B - 1
C - 2
A - 3
Continue
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
A - 2
B - 3
C -1
Continue
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Try again!
Try again!
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
B - 2
A - 1
C - 3
Continue
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Are you sure you want to go back to the beginning?
You will lose all your progress
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Try again!
Correct!
The answer is Aerobic. The surface fluid is exposed to the air, creating a highly oxygenated environment for specific surface-dwelling bacteria to thrive!
Continue
Correct!
The answer is the Benthic zone. As you sink into the detritus graveyard at the bottom of the pitcher, you enter a completely different physical neighborhood!
Continue
Correct!
The answer is Anaerobic. Buried under all that decomposing matter, oxygen is blocked out. The bacteria here have adapted to survive in an entirely oxygen-free world.
Continue
Correct!
The answer is False. The pitcher is a highly stratified landscape. The bacterial communities clinging to the walls are distinct from those in the muck at the bottom!
Continue
Correct!
The answer is the Bacterial Cell. Microbes are greedy. They quickly mineralize your nitrogen but lock it away inside their own cells to grow before the plant gets a single drop!
Continue
Correct!
he answer is Microbes Hoarding. This creates a nutrient time-lag. The microbes act as a competitive sink, holding onto the nutrients and delaying the host plant's meal.
Continue
Correct!
The answer is Plant Tissue. As the bacterial lifecycle ends and they die off, they release their stored nitrogen, acting as a delayed nutrient source for the plant.
Continue
Correct!
The answer is the Tug-of-War. It's a classic competition. The plant provides the trap, but it still has to fight its own microbial guests for the very nutrients it caught!
Continue