¶ … Microbes
The Role of Microbes
Whitman and colleagues estimated in 1998 that the microbial population in the ocean's sedimentary layers represented between 55% and 86% of all microbial biomass on the Earth's surface and 27% to 33% of the biomass for all forms of life living on this planet (Kallmeyer, Pockalny, Adhikari, Smith, and D'Hondt, 2012). A more recent estimate, based on a much larger and diverse set of samples, reveals that that the seafloor microbial biomass represents only 0.18% to 3.6% of the global total. The reason for this revision is due to the finding that the highest concentrations of microbial biomass within the ocean's sedimentary layers are in the shallowest water depths close to land. The land-based microbial biomass is therefore the largest source of microbes on the Earth's surface by far.
Aquatic Microbes
The microbes that live in the sedimentary layers of the oceans are amazingly diverse and highly active metabolically (D'Hondt et al., 2004). In samples taken off the coast of Peru, at ocean depths ranging from 150 m to 5300 m, columnar samples revealed abundant microbial habitation in sediment depths ranging from 0 to 420 m and...
Ecosystem Effects of Human Behavior on Ecosystem Humans often have the ability to remake an ecosystem entirely, disturbing every aspect of it to the extent that the ecosystem can be changed so much that it is destroyed. This paper examines one ecosystem that has been significantly damaged by human behavior and then projects what future human behavior might bring to this environment. The ecosystem that I will examine is that of the Owens
Ecosystems are changed by both biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are all living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment. Biotic factors include organisms, their presence or parts, their interaction with the ecosystem, or their wastes. Additionally, parasitism, disease, and predation are considered biotic factors. Abiotic factors are factors of a non-living physical and chemical nature that affect the ability of organisms
Ecosystem Structure, Function and Change Lake Tahoe is located in Sierra Nevada and is a freshwater lake over 1600 feet deep and one of the largest lakes in America. The lake is at the heart of a comprehensive ecosystem and home to a range of native species and contains a rich aquatic life. For example, the lake is home to redside dace, suckers and chub. "The ecosystem of the Lake Tahoe
Ecosystems, Energy, And Nutrient Cycles Energy is the capacity to perform work, and it can only be measured in relation to how it affects matter. All organisms require energy to stay alive. All organisms also transform energy. Energy cannot be created or lost, it can only be transferred and transformed. Therefore, in order to perform any kind of function (or work) the body needs energy (the capacity to perform work), and
Ecosystem Perception and how it relates to the Ecosystem Upper Saline Watershed (Surf Your Watershed, N.d.) Our local watershed is such an essential part of our everyday living. However, most people take their water for granted and assume that some else is taking care of that problem. Yet, this is not always the case. Many watersheds throughout the United States are at risk for different types of contamination. In our local watershed, mercury
Nevertheless, it is a conceptual change from government-sponsored conservation efforts of the past, which might have focused specifically in the same region on the manatee population, and thus played a pure game of numbers. To regard the Florida manatee instead as part of a larger ecosystem that must be monitored in numerous different ways requires a change in approach which is not always easy for a government agency to
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now