Microbial Diversity in Lava Caves
SLiME team members are studying lava cave microbial diversity in lava caves on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, in the Azores, Iceland, El Malpais National Monument (New Mexico, USA), Lava Beds National Monument (California, USA). The photo above shows an extensive yellow colored microbial mat in a cave on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi.
Microbes that Masquerade as Minerals
To find life on other planets and extraterrestrial bodies, we need to know how to identify life when it may look different than we’re expecting. We’ve been exploring lava caves for mineral deposits that contain microbial communities.
Bat Microbiomes & Microbial Defenses
Bats have a wealth of Bacteria and Fungi that live on their skin and fur. We’ve been exploring which residents on bats provide possible defenses against pathogens, such as the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats.
Geomicrobiology of Caves
Microbes can precipitate rock or dissolve it and they do this very effectively in caves! Our team has been studying how microbes make ferromanganese deposits in carbonate caves and dissolve carbonate in sulfuric acid caves.
Sulfur Cave Microbial Ecology
In the state of Tabasco, Mexico, there’s an amazing sulfur cave, Cueva de Villa Luz, with snottites that drip sulfuric acid, deep springs that degas hydrogen sulfide gas and methane, and a variety of other microbial habitats.
Pool Fingers – Microbes Entombed in Stone
Fingers of stone, descending from shelf stone in cave pools in several carbonate caves in the Guadalupe Mountains, have revealed the presence of many entombed microbes. Our team is investigating the whether microbes have helped create these pool fingers.