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The United Nations proclaimed 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, stating that biodiversity, is essential to sustain the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on.
Dr. José Eduardo González Pastor from the Astrobiology Centre in Madrid (INTA-CSIC) writes in his article "The unseen diversity of microbes. The protection of aquatic environments due to their microbiological interest." about the importance of the microorganisms in the environment and in particular in various aquatic ecosystems. Further he points out their usefulness in biotechnological applications and medicine.
Biological diversity is the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it generates. It forms the net of life on which we depend and form part of. The biodiversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans. In line with this, it's a unique opportunity to highlight the existence and increase the understanding of the vital role that the very first inhabitants of this planet and also its most abundant organisms play - the microorganisms.
..."The earliest microorganisms, bacteria and archaea, colonised our planet approximately 3,800 million years ago. The earliest single-cell eucaryotes (also microorganisms) appeared around 1,800 to 1,900 million years ago and the first multicellular organisms 590 million years ago. Since then, microorganisms have populated virtually every habitat on our planet, from the poles to the deserts, the ocean deeps and the depths of the Earth's crust. Micro-organisms have adapted to the most extreme conditions that exist on our planet, high and low temperatures, high salinity, aridity, acidity, alkalinity and high pressure..."
Continue the reading, by downloading the publication "The unseen diversity of microbes. The protection of aquatic environments due to their microbiological interest."
