Life at Extremes Environments, Organisms and Strategies for Survival

About this book

From arid deserts to icy poles, outer space to the depths of the sea, this book studies the remarkable life forms that have made these inhospitable environments their home. Covering not only micro-organisms, but also higher plants and animals such as worms, fish and polar plants, the book details the ecological, biological and biogeochemical challenges these organisms face and unifying themes between environments.

Contents

1 What are extreme environments and what lives in them?
2 Past extremes
3 Polar marine ecosystems
4 Sea ice
5 Polar terrestrial environments
6 Polar freshwaters: high altitude and latitude lakes
7 Subglacial lakes
8 Cold alpine regions
9 Glacier surface habitats
10 Polar deserts
11 Hot desert environments
12 Terrestrial hydrothermal environments
13 Deep-sea hydrothermal vents
14 High hydrostatic pressure environments
15 Deep sea
16 Caves and karst environments
17 The deep biosphere: deep subterranean and subseafloor habitats
18 Acidic environments
19 Life in alkaline environments and alkaliphiles
20 Hypersaline environments and halophiles
21 Hypoxic environments
22 High ultraviolet radiation environments
23 Life in a changing climate
24 Anthropogenic extreme environments
25 Biotechnological applications of extremophiles: promise and prospects
26 Extreme environments on Earth as analogues for life on other planets: astrobiology
27 Concluding remarks

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Biography

Elanor Bell completed a PhD in 1998 having studied the microbial ecology of Antarctic saline lakes in the Vestfold Hills, Eastern Antarctica. She went on to hold postdoctoral positions at McGill University, Canada, and Potsdam University, Germany, before becoming a lecturer in Marine Microbial Ecology and Marine Conservation at The Scottish Institute for Marine Science/ University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom. She has wintered twice in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, spent an extended season in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica and several seasons in the Arctic. Elanor has recently moved to Tasmania, Australia with her two young children and partner.