| anaerobe |
A
microorganism that grows best, or exclusively, in the absence of oxygen |
| benthic zone |
The sedimentary bottom
region of a pond, lake, or ocean |
| bioremediation |
The
use of microbes to reduce or degrade pollutants, industrial wastes, and household garbage. |
| biosphere |
Habitable regions
comprising the aquatic (hydrospheric), soil-rock (lithospheric), and air (atmospheric)
environments. |
| commensalism |
An
unequal relationship in which one species derives benefit without harming the other. |
| eutrophication |
The process whereby
dissolved nutrients resulting from natural seasonal enrichment or industrial pollution of
water cause overgrowth of algae and cyanobacteria to the detriment of fish and other large
aquatic inhabitants. |
| fermentations |
The
extraction of energy through anaerobic degradation of substrates into simpler, reduced
metabolites. In large industrial processes, fermentation can mean any use of microbial
metabolism to manufacture organic chemicals or other products |
| fixed |
In microscopic slide
preparation of tissue sections or bacterial smears, fixation pertains to rapid killing,
hardening, and adhesion to the slide, while retaining as many natural characteristics as
possible. Also refers to the assimilation of inorganic molecules into organic ones, as in
carbon or nitrogen fixation. |
| Gaia Hypothesis |
The
concept that biotic and abiotic factors sustain suitable conditions for one another simply
by their interactions. Named after the mythical Greek goddess of earth. |
| limnetic zone |
The deep-water region
beyond the shoreline. |
| mash |
In
making beer, this malt grain is steeped in warm water, ground up, and fortified with
carbohydrates. |
| mineralization |
The process by which
decomposers (bacteria and fungi) convert organic debris into inorganic and elemental form.
It is part of the recycling process. |
| mycorrhizae |
Various
species of fungi adapted in an intimate, mutualistic relationship to plant roots. |
| niche |
In ecology, an
organism’s biological role in or contribution to its community |
| rhizosphere |
The
zone of soil, complete with microbial inhabitants, in the immediate vicinity of plant
roots. |
