Processes in Microbial Ecology/ David L.Krichman

Description based upon print version of record.

Cover; Table of Contents; Chapter 1 Introduction; What is a microbe?; Why study microbial ecology?; Microbes cause diseases of macroscopic organisms, including humans; Much of our food depends on microbes; Microbes degrade and detoxify pollutants; Microbes can be useful model systems for exploring general principles in ecology and evolution; Some microbes are examples of early life on earth and perhaps of life on other planets; Microbes mediate many biogeochemical processes that affect global climate; Microbes are everywhere, doing nearly everything; How do we study microbes in nature?

The three kingdoms of life: Bacteria, Archaea, and EukaryaFunctional groups of microbes; Autotroph versus heterotroph; Phototroph versus chemotroph; Sources of background information; Chapter 2 Elements, biochemicals, and structures of microbes; Elemental composition of microbes; Elemental ratios in biogeochemical studies; C:N and C:P ratios for various microbes; Biochemical composition of bacteria; Biochemical composition of eukaryotic microbes; Explaining elemental ratios; Architecture of a microbial cell; Membranes of microbes and active transport; Cell walls in prokaryotes and eukaryotes

Components of microbial cells as biomarkersExtracellular structures; Extracellular polymers of microbes; Flagella, cilia, fimbriae, and pili; Chapter 3 Physical-chemical environment of microbes; Water; Temperature; The effect of temperature on reaction rates; pH; Salt and osmotic balance; Oxygen and redox potential; Light; Pressure; The consequences of being small; Microbial life in natural aquatic habitats; Motility and taxis; Submicron- and micron-scale patchiness in aqueous environments; Microbial life in soils; Water content of soils

Interactions between temperature and water content in soilsThe biofilm environment; Chapter 4 Microbial primary production and phototrophy; Basics of primary production and photosynthesis; Light and algal pigments; Transport of inorganic carbon; The carbon dioxide-fixing enzyme; Primary production, gross production, and net production; Primary production by terrestrial higher plants and aquatic microbes; The spring bloom and controls of phytoplankton growth; Major groups of bloom-forming phytoplankton; Diatoms; Coccolithophorids and the biological pump; Phaeocystis and dimethylsulfide

Diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacteriaAfter the bloom: picoplankton and nanoplankton; Competition for limiting nutrients; Primary production by coccoid cyanobacteria; Photoheterotrophy in the oceans; Uptake of organic material by algae; Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria; Rhodopsin in photoheterotrophic bacteria; Ecological and biogeochemical impacts of photoheterotrophy; Chapter 5 Degradation of organic material; Mineralization of organic material in various ecosystems; Who does most of the respiration on the planet?; Slow and fast carbon cycling pathways

Chemical characterization of detrital organic material

Microbial ecology is the study of interactions among microbes in natural environments and their roles in biogeochemical cycles, food web dynamics, and the evolution of life. Microbes are the most numerous organisms in the biosphere and mediate many critical reactions in elemental cycles and biogeochemical reactions. Because they are essential players in the carbon cycle and related processes, microbial ecology is a vital science for understanding the role of the biosphere in global warming and the response of natural ecosystems to climate change. This novel textbook discusses the major process