All life forms require energy to grow and reproduce, and that
energy must somehow be extracted from the environment. Humans,
for example, breathe air and eat food. When the organic matter
in the food combines chemically with the oxygen in the air,
energy is released. Where did the oxygen and the organic matter
come from? Both were made by other organisms, so that our survival
is dependent upon the activity of other life forms. Microbial
mats function in the same way as a complex food web in which
each organism both depends and is depended on by other members
of the community. Mats are remarkable in this regard because
the organisms that live there constitute an amazing array of
energy harvesting strategies. In fact, virtually every way that
nature has to "make a living" occurs in microbial mats, all
within a few millimeters! This diagram (modified from Fenchel
and Findlay, 1995) illustrates the basics of how a microbial
mat food web works. Click
here to see what role different organisms play in the overall
function of the mat. (requires flash plugin)
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