Ecology - microorganisms n stuff

Diplo

In pairs

Coccobacilli

oval

Vibro

curved rod

heliobacter

helical

Strepto

In chains

streptobacilli

rod-shaped bacteria that form chains.

spirrila

coil

corynebacter

club

staphylo

clusters

spirochete

spiral

Taxonomy

The science of classifying and naming living organisms, encompassing hierarchical categorizations such as domain, kingdom, phylum, and species.

Applications of microbial ecology

climatic data, forensics, water quality

Diatom

A major group of microalgae characterized by their silica cell walls, often found in aquatic environments.

Microbe

Microorganism, often pathogenic

Gram staining

is a laboratory technique used to differentiate bacterial species into two groups based on their cell walls, namely Gram-positive and Gram-negative.

Gram positive

Bacteria that retain the crystal violet stain used in Gram staining, indicating a thick peptidoglycan layer in their cell wall.

Gram negative

Bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain in Gram staining, indicating a thinner peptidoglycan layer and an outer membrane.

Traits uses to classify bacteria

shape, number of cells, cell wall, growth temperature range, mode of metabolism

16S rRNA as a tool in microbial ecology

A sequence of DNA that encodes the RNA component of the smaller subunit of bacterial ribosomes. used to determine evolutionary patterns/ relationships because it is present in all cells, essential, conserved and changes happen slowly, horizontal and lateral transfer unlikely

Cyanobacteria

photosynthetic bacteria, nitrogen fixing. can be unicellular, filamentous or colonial. responsible for oxygenation of the atmosphere

Proteobacteria

one of the largest clades of bacteria with 6 classes, predominantly gram negative

Firmicutes (bacillota)

all gram positive, often pathogenic.

Archaea

Diverged slightly later in the tree of life, extremophiles. Includes halophiles, thermophiles, and methanogens. Many generate methane contributing to climate change

Methanogen

Strict anaerobe

Extreme halophile

salt loving

thermophile

heat loving

Classifying microbial eukaryotes

body size, functional ecology, feeding strategy, environment

Functional ecology

might be phytoplankton or zooplankton

Phytoplankton

microscopic photosynthetic organisms that live in aquatic environments, forming the base of the food web.

zooplankton

microscopic organisms that consume phytoplankton and are a vital component of aquatic food webs.

Multicellular aquatic eukaryote microbe

meiofauna includes small benthic invertebrates

Nekton

microorganism capable of self propulsion

multicellular eukaryote

At least 20 cells, typically have tissues and organs. dont have to be self propelled especially in marine environment

Benthos

living in benthic sediment

Dinoflaggelate

a type of unicellular organism that is bioluminescent

Plankton

multicellular, sessile organisms that can be primary producers (phytoplankton) or consumers

Aquatic food webs

characterised by numbers of trophic levels and amount oof biomass per level. dependent on nutrient availability

Importance of diatoms

Diatoms are essential phytoplankton with silica shells, and they are primary producers in aquatic ecosystems, contributing significantly to carbon fixation and oxygen production, responsible for 20-30 percent of oxygen we breathe. They form the base of many marine food webs and are important indicators of environmental health.

Show up in fossil records so can tell us about past oceans - salinity, ph, oxygenation etc based on the species tolerances

Can be categorised by size using a sieve

Their prescence can be used to diagnose drowning

Copepod

small, crustacean zooplankton and important consumers in aquatic ecosystems, serving as key food sources for larger animals. feed on phytoplankton and other small particles, act as food for larger invertebrates and fish. have a big impact on the carbon and nutrient cycle

Indicator species

their presence, and health/mobility status can demonstrate pollution levels

quantative sampling tells us

species importance, score in assessing water quality

Sampling soft sediment

PVC corers,Eckman grab

Sampling coarse sediments

Hess sampler, pumps, freeze corer

sampling specific substrates

Collect by hand, scrape

Freeze corer

A device used to collect sediment samples from aquatic environments, preventing disturbance of sediment layers by freezing the sample during retrieval.

Swirl and decant to extract meiofauna

A method for collecting meiofauna from sediment samples by swirling sediment in water and decanting the supernatant through a sieve or net, leaving behind larger particles.