Background Information: Deep

Alcanivorax Borkumensis

What are microbes?  Single celled organisms that make up the bacteria and archaea kingdoms  They make up a majority of the life on Earth in

terms of mass.  They are the first living organisms to develop.

Role in Ecology  Nearly all microbes are either decomposers or

producers.  They play major roles in maintaining the nitrogen and carbon cycles and decomposing carbon based organisms

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Evolution

 Microbes are the oldest organism on earth specifically

3.3 billion years.  Without them evolution would never have taken place  The first micro-organisms were photosynthetic Cyano-bacteria

Deep Sea

 Life for the microbes in the deep ocean is intense.  Several factors in their environment are:

immense pressure, complete darkness, and restricted by lack of chemicals and nutrients in most places for metabolism. They are often called “extremophiles. (living in extreme environments (salinity, temperature, pH, pressure)

 The ocean is

separated into multiple biospheres or layers  Each of these have their own unique characteristics.  Only areas that receive significant light (photic zone) have primarily been observed.

Microbes beneath the sea floor are a new area of reearch by C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy and Biological investigation) http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/resources/toolbox.html

How do scientists search for and collect microbes beneath the sea floor? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOgZy9TfSFo&feature=youtu.be

What We Learn from Ocean Drilling Ocean drilling has:

Confirmed the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift. Altered our thinking about the formation of geologic hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. Discovered methane, in the “frozen” form of hydrates (substance containing water), in sediments below the ocean, and confirmed that they exist worldwide. Discovered a vast and active biosphere of microbes living deep below the seafloor, far deeper than scientists ever predicted life could exist. These are unknown microbes with an estimated biomass greater than all terrestrial life Provided major insights into the paleoclimate record—the changes to our global climate that have occurred over the past 100 million years and more.

Think  Why are microbes so essential to all life forms in terms

of ecology and evolution? (5min)