Abstract
Primary producers capture much of the energy that flows through freshwater food webs, and microbes are responsible for the bulk of the biogeochemical transformational fluxes (including decomposition and nutrient recycling) in aquatic systems. Some of this freshwater biogeochemistry (e.g., production of methane in wetlands) is important on a global scale because methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gasses. Knowledge about these organisms is essential for those involved with water quality issues as well as general ecological studies. In this chapter, we consider the microbes and plants found in freshwaters. This placement of microbes and plants into a single chapter is certainly an artificial classification; the organisms considered here span taxonomic groups from viruses to complex plants and including Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. For practical purposes, we mostly follow traditional taxonomic protocol because many determinations are based on obvious morphological characteristics, and this method is readily available to researchers who are not specialists in taxonomic identification via molecular methods. Still, where the traditional taxonomy does not match molecular methods at deep phylogenetic levels, we point out the differences.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call