Life at the Limits Organisms in Extreme Environments [Paperback]

A fascinating account of how organisms are able to live in, or survive, extreme conditions.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.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.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 survivels*