Life at the Limits: Organisms in Extreme Environments - Softcover

Wharton, David A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521039908 ISBN 13: 9780521039901

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Frogs that freeze solid, worms that dry out, and bacteria that survive temperatures over 100°C are all organisms that have an extreme biology, which involves many aspects of their physiology, ecology, and evolution. These organisms live in seemingly impossible places and exhibit fascinating behavior. In this captivating account, the reader is taken on a tour of extreme environments, and shown the remarkable abilities of organisms to survive a range of extreme conditions, such as high and low temperatures and desiccation. Examples include:

Hydrothermal vents

Hot and cold deserts

Polar regions

hot springs

alpine and winter temperate environments

ocean depths, salt lakes, soda lakes, and estuarine muds, among other environments. Life at the Limits considers how organisms survive major stresses, and what extreme organisms can tell us about the origin of life and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. David Wharton is a Senior Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. He has focused his research on the survival abilities of nematodes, resulting in the publication of over 75 research papers and one book, The Functional Biology of Nematodes (Croom Helm, 1986). His contribution to research was recognized by the award of the degree Doctor of Science by the University of Bristol in 1997. Recently, Wharton has become interested in the popularization of science through his involvement in the establishment of a Postgraduate Diploma in Natural History, Filmmaking and Communication, a collaboration between the University of Otago and Natural History New Zealand, a producer of natural history films based in Dunedin.

About this title

Book Description:

In this fascinating account, David Wharton takes the reader on a tour of extreme environments, and shows how some organisms have the remarkable ability to survive a range of extreme conditions, such as high and low temperatures, high pressures, acidity and desiccation. The astonishing array of different responses and adaptations that extreme organisms have evolved to cope with their environment are explored, as are the implications for our understanding of the origin of life and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

About the Author:

David Wharton is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where his research has centred upon the extraodinary survival abilities of animals.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0521039908
• ISBN 13: 9780521039901
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320