What Kind Of Animal Would Be Best Suited To Occupy A New Niche On The Island?
xvi.1A: Microbes and Ecosystem Niches
- Page ID
- 12356
Every ecosystem on Earth contains microorganisms that occupy unique niches based on their specific metabolic properties.
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate microbes and the niches they occupy
Key Points
- Microbes live in all parts of the biosphere where there is liquid water.
- By virtue of their omnipresence, microbes impact the unabridged biosphere.
- Each microbial species in an ecosystem is thought to occupy a unique niche, which is a circuitous clarification of the ways in which an organism uses its environment.
- The precise ecological niche of a microbe is primarily determined by the specific metabolic properties of that organism.
Key Terms
- bioremediation: The use of biological organisms, usually microorganisms, to remove contaminants, peculiarly from polluted water.
- niche: A function within an ecological system to which an organism is especially suited.
- biosphere: The part of the Earth and its atmosphere capable of supporting life.
Microbes and Ecosystem Niches
Microbial life is amazingly various and microorganisms quite literally cover the planet. In fact, it has been estimated that there are 100,000,000 times more than microbial cells on the planet than there are stars in the observable universe! Microbes live in all parts of the biosphere where in that location is liquid water, including soil, hot springs, the bounding main floor, acid lakes, deserts, geysers, rocks, and even the mammalian gut.
By virtue of their omnipresence, microbes impact the entire biosphere; indeed, microbial metabolic processes (including nitrogen fixation, methane metabolism, and sulfur metabolism) collectively control global biogeochemical cycling. The ability of microbes to contribute substantially to the part of every ecosystem is a reflection their tremendous biological variety.
Microbes are vital to every ecosystem on Earth and are particularly of import in zones where light cannot approach (that is, where photosynthesis cannot be the basic means to collect energy). Microorganisms participate in a host of fundamental ecological processes including production, decomposition, and fixation. They can also take additional indirect effects on the ecosystem through symbiotic relationships with other organisms. In addition, microbial processes can be co-opted for biodegradation or bioremediation of domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastes, making the report of microbial ecology particularly important for biotechnological and environmental applications.
Each species in an ecosystem is thought to occupy a split, unique niche. The ecological niche of a microorganism describes how information technology responds to the distribution of resources and competing species, besides as the means in which it alters those same factors in turn. In essence, the niche is a circuitous description of the ways in which a microbial species uses its environment.
The precise ecological niche of a microbe is primarily determined by the specific metabolic properties of that organism. For case, microbial organisms that tin obtain free energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds (such as iron-reducing leaner ) will likely occupy a dissimilar niche from those that obtain free energy from light (such as blue-green alga). Even among photosynthetic leaner, at that place are diverse species that contain different photosynthetic pigments (such as chlorophylls and carotenoids) that let them to accept advantage of unlike portions of the electromagnetic spectrum; therefore, fifty-fifty microbes with similar metabolic properties may inhabit unique niches.
Source: https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Book%3A_Microbiology_(Boundless)/16%3A_Microbial_Ecology/16.1%3A_Microbial_Ecology/16.1A%3A_Microbes_and_Ecosystem_Niches
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