........ published in NEWSLETTER # 52
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........ published in NEWSLETTER # 52
MICROBIAL MATS _ STRUCTURE, DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE
by Dr. L.J. Stal, University, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Dr. P. Caumette, Lab. d'Oceanographie Biologique, Arcachon (France)
Microbial mats develop in a wide variety of environments. They are found in intertidal coastal sediments, coral reefs, hypersaline ponds and lakes and marine salterns, thermal springs, Antarctic lakes, and in dry and hot deserts. Virtually all these microbial mats are formed by phototrophic microorganisms but there also exist mats of the chemotrophic Beggiatoa spp. and more rarely of fungi. The majority of microbial mats are formed by the oxygenic prokaryotic cyanobacteria but mats of anoxygenic phototrophic organisms or eukaryotic algae also exist. Of particular interest are chemotrophic microbial mats that are found in deep_sea hydrothermal vents and in certain thermomineral sulfurous caves. The unifying property of microbial mats and biofilms is the densely packed biomass in which steep and fluctuating gradients of physical and chemical factors are present. Microbial mats are increasingly viewed as important model systems for the study of ecological relationships and biogeochemical cycles and may even serve as models for global circulation. Microbial mats exchange matter with both geo_ and atmosphere and due to the high biomass content, these systems may contribute to, and perhaps, regulate global processes.
The investigation of microbial mats requires multidisciplinary studies and close cooperation between gelogists, sedimentologists, chemists, biochemists, microbiologists, biogeochemists, taxonomists, physiologists and molecular biologists. This book (NATO ASI SERIES G35) covers in 51 chapters the result of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop, held in Arcachon (France) in September 1993. The meeting brought together an interdisciplinary group of scientists working on microbial mats and related fields. The book is subdivided into the following 6 sections: (I) Colonization and initial processes in mat formation, (II) New methods in microbial mat research, (III) Microscale interactions in microbial mats, (IV) Diel and spatial variations of physico_chemical parameters and processes in microbial mats, (V) New physiological groups of organisms in microbial mats, (VI) Bioremediability and biogeochemical cycles.
Microbial mats are very interesting objects for study by microbiologists, biogeomchemists and geologists. Increasing interest exists regarding the possibility of using natural or constructed microbial mats for the degradation of xenobiotics and for site remediation. The growth and metabolism of microorganisms, notably cyanobacterial mats and diatom biofilms, are significantly limiting the erodibility of coastal sediments.
This book contains a wealth of up_to_date information on microbial mats and will be very useful to anyone interested in microbiology (microbial ecology), marine biology, geology and biogeochemistry.
Reference books: C115, C360, G35, I3