Microorganisms in Marine Environments

Costal Marine Systems

Microorganisms in Marine Environments.

“No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the

conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those

marine lands can be considered normal”

~ Jacques Yves Cousteau ~

”

What will we discuss?

1.Marine Zones. 2.Trophic Classification.3.Estuaries.4.Salt Wedge.5.Algal Bloom

It’s Types. It’s Effect.

6. Salt Marsh.7. Winogradisky Column.

Marine Zones.

Trophic Classification

Eutrophic

Mesotrophic

Oligotrophic

1. Eutrophic body of water• Commonly a lake or pond.• Has high biological productivity. • Due to: excessive nutrients,

especially nitrogen and phosphorus.

Trophic Classification

Algal bloom in a village river in the mountains China

2. Mesotrophic body of water

Trophic Classification

•Lakes with an intermediate level of productivity.

• These lakes are commonly clear water lakes and ponds with beds of submerged aquatic plants and medium levels of nutrients

3. Oligotrophic body of water

Trophic Classification

•Lake with low primary productivity, the result of low nutrient content.

•These lakes have low algal production, and consequently, often have very clear waters, with high drinking-water quality.

Estuaries• Estuary is semi-enclosed coastal region where

river meets the sea.

Ocean

River Salt wedge

Salt wedge Salt wedge is formed because salt water is

denser than fresh water. So salt water sink below and overlying with

fresh water.

Changes in this region • According to the distance from the river and sea

the amount of salt water decline.

• The distance the salt wedge interrupt the estuary is not static and changes with tides

• This change in the environment leads to change in the living organisms and microbial community that live in this region…..

Change in Distance of sea

and river

Salt conc.

Microbial communities

Microbes in this region • Adapt to the salinity. • Most protists and fungi produce osmtatically

active carbohydrates. • Prokaryotes : regulate their internal

potassium or special amino acids such as ecoine and betaine.

Inhabitants • Halotolerant Microbes!!!

• Halophilic: Cant live without high concentrations of salt.

• Halotolerant: Can withstand variations in salt concentration.

ARE HALOPHILIC AND HALOTOLERANT THE SAME

NO

“The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal

meaning: we are all in the same boat.”

~ Jacques Yves Cousteau ~

”

Pollution • Although estuaries are

the most important region for diversity of organisms and other microbial communities it is the most polluted marine environment.

Disaster of industries !!!

• Industries dumb their wastes in rivers and oceans without fear of consequences..

• The clean up of rivers and oceans continues from the 17th century till this days….

Where is the problem ??

Organic Material Nutrient Chemoorga

notroph

Anoxic conditions

O2

O2

O2

O2

O2

Devoid all microscopic life

What if Photoautotrophic!!??

Phosphorus

Nitrogen

A

A

A

A

A

A

c

cc c

c

c

Algae

CyanoBacteria

A lot of Algae and Cyanobacteria !!!???

Then Lottssss Of Fooooodddd

Harmful Algal Bloom

OMG!!! THAT’S TOO MUCH

Algal Bloom • An algal bloom is a rapid increase or

accumulation in the population of algae (typically microscopic) in a water system.

• Some blooms may be recognized by discoloration of the water resulting from the high density of pigmented cells.

Harmful Algal Bloom • If microbes produce TOXIC products or are in

themselves toxic to other organisms such as fish and shellfish.

• HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom ) also called: Red Tide. ??WHY?

• Because the microbial density is so great that the water becomes red or pink.

Result !!!

Causative Microbes • Diatoms of genus Pseudonitzschia Spp

Production of neurotoxins

• Caused by Dinoflagellates producing a neurotoxin cause brevetoxin

Causative Microbes

AlexandriumSpp

Paralytic shellfish poisoning

Brevetoxin • Produced by dinoflagellate called Karina

brevis.. • Killed number of endangered species and

dolphins.. • Direct exposure to this microbe cause

neurological damage to human, including short-term memory loss.

~SALT MARSHES~

Salt marsh • Not a mixture between salt + fresh water It is only Salty water.

Very Dynamic Microbial Community

Winogradisky Column Simulation To The Natural Microbial Community

• What are we need to build it?

Winogradisky Column

Mud ( Salt marsh sediment) Environment

Shredded newspaper Carbon Source

Calcium Carbonate CO2

Calcium Sulfate Sulfur source

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• THAN YOU

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