Microbe Planet

I have always been fascinated by how living organisms can survive in extreme environments and have, over the last few years been looking in more detail at extremophile microbes.  This has culminated in a book which is at present going through a rewrite but nearing completion.  

 

Half of this website is devoted to these wonderful extremophiles, including their extreme environments, articles and comments about how they live and links to interesting sites concerned with current research.  Work is definitely still in progress and I will be adding to it as often as I can.

My ideal microbe trip at the moment would be to start in Antarctica particularly the Dry Valleys near McMurdo sound, which has microbes and a few animals, such as rotifers and nematodes, living the the soil and lakes as well as a subglacial lake populated by microbes  leaking blood red minerals into the valley at Blood Falls. Then up through Chile, with its dramatic hot springs, mountains and glaciers,  north to the Atacama desert where microbe populations live in caves on the coast and inside the salty halites.  Then up to to the high Altiplano in the Andes where the high altitude lakes contain living stromatolites.  Continuing to the volcanoes of Ecuador (perhaps a side trip to the Galapagos Islands) and up the western coast of the USA, deserts and mountains, to culminate in extremophile heaven, Yellowstone National Park.  

But there are so many other  wonderful places to visit just not enough time or money!

I will report back on how the dream progresses!  Don't expect anything soon ...

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I am a biologist, teacher, photographer and traveller.  Over the years I have been lucky to have been able to travel and work in Kenya, UK, Peru and Jordan and now am settled in Spain.  During my holidays I have also travelled overland through Ecuador and Colombia and visited Chile, Brazil and Argentina as well as many European countries, Iceland, Vietnam and Cambodia

I have always had a wide interest  in biology but also in science in general.

My particular area is coral reef ecology which I have indulged in as often as I can, however living in Madrid, which is as far away from the sea as is possible in Spain and even further from coral reefs, has not made it easy.

I recently visited the wonderful island of  Madagascar and am in the process of collecting together photos and videos of the country.

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I have completed a book about how extreme microbes have contributed to the radiation and development of life on Earth and am in the process of finding a publisher.