Jeff Bowman         

Senior Thesis

 

 

 

 

Jeff Bowman         

Senior Thesis

Sampling Dunaliella salina at the North Great Salt Lake, June of 2007.

Development of a proxy for salinity from lipid biomarkers in halotolerant microorganisms

Halophilic and halotolerant organisms inhabit environments of high salinity.  Halotolerant organisms grow fastest at low salinities, but as the name implies can tolerate large amounts of salt.  Halophilic microorganisms grow fastest at high salinity, above the salinity of the ocean in the case of extreme-halophiles.

 

Hypersaline environments are widely distributed throughout the world.  On land hypersaline environments exist wherever lakes and wetlands lose more water through evaporation than they receive from precipitation.  Additionally, springs in areas of geologic salt deposits can create hypersaline lakes and ponds.  Within the oceans hypersaline environments exist where extremely dense, highly saline water pools on the deep sea floor.

 

The ability of halophiles and halotolerant organisms to live in these environments makes them excellent candidates for study by investigators in the fields of astrobiology, biogeology, molecular biology, and paleoclimatology.

 

 

 

 

 

bowmanjs at u.washington.edu

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