This book provides a structured account of the full range of
environments in Antarctica and of the microbial communities that live
within them. Environments examined include: snow and ice; benthic
marine; sea ice; lakes and streams; marginal ice; soil; the open ocean;
rock. In the more extreme habitats of this region microscopic life forms
constitute the entire biology of the habitat, but in all antarctic
environments the microbial communities play a major and often dominant
role in the transfer of carbon, nutrients and energy throughout the
ecosystem. The book examines the major features of the chemical and
physical environment in each habitat, and the influence of these
features on the population structure and dynamics of their microbiota.