Bacterial Biogeochemistry

In 1986, Tom Fenchel was the recipient of the Ecology Institute Prize and the Huntsman Medal for Excellency in Oceanography. He is an honorary member of the Society for General Microbiology and is a Professor of Marine Biology and the Director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. He has authored and co-authored several books and has published about 120 original and review papers on microbial ecology, marine biology and population biology. He holds a Ph.D and a Dr.Sc. from the University of Copenhagen and is a member of the Danish Royal Academy of Sciences and of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Gary M. King has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Natural Council of Maine, the President's Creative Achievement Award from the University of Maine, and the Graduate Research and Teaching Award from the College of Science at the University of Maine. He was a Fulbright research fellow in Denmark from 1988-1990 and was the Chief Scientist/Aquanaut Team Leader for the "Aquarius" missions 88-2 and 89-2 and Hydolab 84-5. He received his Ph.D with honors from the University of Georgia, is a professor of Microbiology and Oceanography at the University of Maine, and has published more than 80 papers in refereed scientific journals.

Preface.
Introduction.
General Considerations:
Bacterial Metabolism.
Bioenergetics of Microbial Metabolism.
Transport Mechanisms and Structure of Microbial Communities.
Mineral Cycles:
Hydrolysis of Organic Polymers.
Comparison of Element Cycles.
The Water Column:
Prokaryotic Primary Producers.
Water Column Bacteria and Mineralisation.
Biogeochemical Cycling in Soils:
Soil Water as a Master Variable.
Responses to Plant Organic Matter.
Responses of Soil Biogeochemistry to Disturbance and Change.
Aquatic Sediments:
Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Sediments.
The Carbon Cycle.
The Nitrogen Cycle.
The Phosphorus Cycle.
Manganese and Iron.
Microbial Mats and Stratified Water Columns:
Mats Based on Colourless Sulfur Bacteria.
Cyanobacterial Mats.
Other Types of Mats.
Stratified Water Columns.
Symbiotic Systems:
The Role of Symbiosis in the Biosphere.
Symbiotic Polymer Degradation.
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation.
Autotrophic Bacteria as Symbionts.
Biogeochemistry and Extreme Environments.
Microbial Biogeochemical Cycling and the Atmosphere:
The Atmosphere as an Elemental Reservoir.
Atmospheric Structure and Evolution.
Synopsis of Trace Gas Biogeochemistry and Linkages to Climate Change.
Trace Gas Dynamics and Climate Change:
An Analysis of Methane Production and Consumption.
Summary and Conclusion.
Origins and Evolution of Biogeochemical Cycles:
Biogeochemical Cycles and Thermodynamics.
Pre-Biotic Earth and Mineral Cycles.
Theoretical Perspectives on the Origin of Life.
Evolution of Biogeochemical Cycles.
Appendix:
Thermodynamics and Calculation of Energy Yields of Metabolic Processes.