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Microbial Eukaryotes in the Marine Subsurface?

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Anoxia

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 21))

Abstract

Marine sediments cover more than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface and have been estimated to contain as much as one-third of Earth’s prokaryotic biomass (Whitman et al. 1998). Despite this, relatively little is known about this deep biosphere, and essentially nothing is known about the presence of microbial eukaryotes (protists) in sediments deeper than a few centimeters. Through consumption of dissolved organic matter and by selective grazing in subsurface horizons where bacterial and/or archaeal numbers are high, protists may significantly impact carbon cycling in the marine subsurface. An understanding of the biogeochemical activities, composition, and temporal and spatial dynamics of marine subsurface communities is essential for accurate modeling of nutrient cycling in this vast subsurface biosphere.

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 Acknowledgements

Support for the deep subsurface investigation of fungi was provided by a grant from the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (award number 32031109) and a NASA NPP fellowship administered by ORAU to JB.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    Virginia P. Edgcomb

  2. College of Earth, Ocean and the Environment, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, 19958, USA

    Jennifer F. Biddle

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  1. Virginia P. Edgcomb
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  2. Jennifer F. Biddle
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Correspondence to Virginia P. Edgcomb .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. for Earth and Environmental Resear, Ludwig-maximilians-University, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, Munich, 80333, Germany

    Alexander V. Altenbach

  2. , Geology & Geophysics Department, Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole Road 266, Woods Hole, 02543, Massachusetts, USA

    Joan M. Bernhard

  3. Jerusalem, The Hebrew University Of, P.O.Box 1132, Efrat, 90435, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

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Edgcomb, V.P., Biddle, J.F. (2012). Microbial Eukaryotes in the Marine Subsurface?. In: Altenbach, A., Bernhard, J., Seckbach, J. (eds) Anoxia. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1896-8_25

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