Overview
- This volume presents new information not published as yet
- Chapters have been contributed by experts of microbial mats
- The information in this book is aimed to a wide circle of readers
- There are no other recent publications to compete with this one
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology (COLE, volume 14)
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Table of contents (30 chapters)
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The Nature of Microbial Mats
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Microbial Mats in The Geological Record
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Marine, Freshwater, and Soil Biofilms
Keywords
About this book
This book provides information about microbial mats, from early fossils to modern mats located in marine and terrestrial environments. Microbial mats – layered biofilms containing different types of cells – are most complex systems in which representatives of various groups of organisms are found together. Among them are cyanobacteria and eukaryotic phototrophs, aerobic heterotrophic and chemoautotrophic bacteria, protozoa, anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, and other types of microorganisms.
These mats are perfect models for biogeochemical processes, such as the cycles of chemical elements, in which a variety of microorganisms cooperate and interact in complex ways. They are often found under extreme conditions and their study contributes to our understanding of extremophilic life. Moreover, microbial mats are models for Precambrian stromatolites; the study of modern microbial mats may provide information on the processes that may have occurred on Earth when prokaryotic life began to spread.
Reviews
From the reviews:
“This volume encompasses many aspects of the microbial mats being a valuable source of information and a true working instrument for scientists interested in microbial mats, either beginners or already known in the field. … attract new people for the study of different aspects of microbial mats students or scientists from other domains. … the reader finds an excellent resume of the main ideas and topics of this comprehensive and authoritative book on microbial mats, which should be available in every decent scientific library.” (Ioan I. Ardelean, Romanian Biochemical Journal, Vol. 48 (1), 2011)Editors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Microbial Mats
Book Subtitle: Modern and Ancient Microorganisms in Stratified Systems
Editors: Joseph Seckbach, Aharon Oren
Series Title: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3799-2
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010
Hardcover ISBN: 978-90-481-3798-5Published: 11 June 2010
Softcover ISBN: 978-94-007-3241-4Published: 05 September 2012
eBook ISBN: 978-90-481-3799-2Published: 17 July 2010
Series ISSN: 1566-0400
Series E-ISSN: 2215-0048
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXVI, 606
Topics: Microbiology, Ecology, Earth Sciences, general, Life Sciences, general, Microbial Ecology, Biogeosciences