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Discovering the Microbes of Yellowstone by Kathy B. Sheehan, David J. Patterson, Brett Leigh Dicks, Joan M. Henson |
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| Yellowstone National Park is one
of the world's truly extraordinary places. Its landscape, dominated by
a great volcanic crater and sculpted over millennia by water and glacial
ice, is host to a dramatically complex and diverse environment teeming
with wildlife and plants. But there is more to Yellowstone's wonders than
meets the eye. A nearly unexplored world awaits the curious in the park's
streams and lakes, wetlands and beaver ponds, hot springs and geysers.
Throughout the park are plants and animals too small to see individually
but essential to the environment, such as the colonies of microbes forming
green and orange gelatinous mats near La Duke Spring; the organisms living
in the severe heat and sulfuric acid of Lemonade Creek; and the protozoa
and algae along the shores of Twin Lakes. This is the world of microbes-the
bacteria, algae, diatoms, and other microscopic organisms that live at
the very foundation of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
This book takes the reader on a spectacular and colorful tour of Yellowstone's microbial flora and fauna. Photographed using state-of-the-art technology, each microbe is presented with photographs of the environment where it's found. The reader will discover the amazing heat-tolerant bacteria that color many of the park's scalding hot springs, the microbes that allow a bison to digest grass, algae that thrive in acid, and microbial mats in every color of the rainbow. An eye-opener for adults and fascinating fun for kids, this book takes a unique approach in examining the natural history of America's greatest national park. |
Seen and Unseen Discovering the Microbes of Yellowstone by Kathy B. Sheehan, David J. Patterson, Brett Leigh Dicks, Joan M. Henson Falcon Press, 2005 Order a copy. |
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