About this book
This book provides information about microbial mats, from early fossils to modern mats located in marine and terrestrial environments. 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 the understanding of extremophilic life.
Contents
Introduction: Microbial Mats Matter as Marvelous Manifestations of Life, J.T. StaleyPreface, J. Seckbach and A. OrenList of Authors and their AddressesPART 1: THE NATURE OF MICROBIAL MATSWhat are microbial mats? G. GerdesPaper from Outer Space -- On 'Meteorpapier' and Microbial Mats, A.OrenPART 2: MICROBIAL MATS IN THE GEOLOGICAL RECORDMicrobial Mats on the Early Earth: The Archean Rock Record, M.M. WalshGunflint Chert Microbiota Revisited - Neither Stromatolites, nor Cyanobacteria, W.E. KrumbeinPaleoenvironmental Context of Microbial Mat-Related Structures in Siliciclastic Rocks - Examples from the Proterozoic of India and South Africa, P.G. Eriksson et alMicrobially Related Structures in Siliciclastic Sediment Resembling Ediacaran Fossils: Examples from India, Ancient and Modern, S.Banerjee et alOsmotrophic Biofilms: From Modern to Ancient, M.D. Brasier et alMicrobial Mats as a Source of Biosignatures, E. ChaconMolecular Investigations and Experimental Manipulations of Microbial Mats: A View to Paleo-Microbial Ecosystems, S.J. Green and L.L. JahnkeArchitecture of Archaeal-Dominated Microbial Mats from Cold Seeps in the Black Sea (Dnjepr Canyon, Lower Crimean Shelf), J. ReitnerPART 3: MARINE, FRESHWATER, AND SOIL BIOFILMSBiodynamics of Modern Marine Stromatolites, D.M. Paterson et alEntophysalis Mats as Environmental Regulators, S. Golubic and R.M.M. AbedDiversity and Role of Cyanobacteria and Aerobic Heterotrophic Microorganisms in Carbon Cycling in Arid Cyanobacterial Mats, R.M.M. Abed et alOoid Accreting Diatom Communities from the Modern Marine Stromatolites at Highborne Cay, Bahamas, J. Franks et alExopolymers (Extracellular Polymeric Substances) in Diatom - Dominated Marine Sediment Biofilms, G.J.C. UnderwoodMicrobial Mats from Wind Flats of the Southern Baltic Sea, K. Heyl et alDiazotrophic Microbial Mats, I. Severin and L.J. StalArchitectures of Biocomplexity: Lichen-Dominated Soil Crusts and Mats, M. Grube et alIron and Bacterial Biofilm Development, O. Avidan et alPART 4 : MICROBIAL MATS IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENTSMats of Filamentous and Unicellular Cyanobacteria in Hypersaline Environments, A. Oren Marine Hypersaline Microcoleus-Dominated Cyanobacterial Mats in the Saltern at Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico. A System-Level Perspective, D.J. Des MaraisEnvironmental Dynamics, Community Structure and Function in a Hypersaline Microbial Mat, H.W. Paerl and A.C. YanarellBiogeochemistry of Carbon Cycling in Hypersaline Mats: Linking the Present to the Past through Biosignatures, P.T. Visscher et alPhototrophic Biofilms from Rio Tinto, an Extreme Acidic Environment, the Prokaryotic Component, A. Aguilera et alFluvial Bedform Generation by Biofilm Activity in the Berrocal Segment of Rio Tinto. Acidic Biofilms and Sedimentation, D.C. Fernandez-Remolar et alCyanobacterial Mats of the Meltwater Ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf (Antarctica), A.D. Jungblut and B.A. NeilanDiversity and Ecology of Cyanobacterial Microflora of Antarctic Seepage Habitats. Comparison of King George Island, Shetland Islands, and James Ross Island, NW Weddell Sea, Antarctica, O. Komarek, and J. KomarekPART 5: MICROBIAL MATS AND ASTROBIOLOGYMicrobial Mats in Antarctica as Models for the Search of Life on the Jovian Moon Europa, S. Dudeja et alPast, Present, and Future: Microbial Mats as Models for Astrobiological Research, J.S. Foster and J.M. MobberleyPART 6: OUTLOOK AND SUMMARYSummary and Conclusion, J. Seckbach et alOrganism IndexSubject IndexAuthors Index
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