Environmental Microbiology: Principles And Applications

By Patrick K. Jjemba

This book was written for an audience that has a basic understanding of microbiology. Often microbiologists tend to overzealously focus on bacteria, inadvertently ignoring other microbes (i.e., algae, fungi, protozoa, and viruses). This discrepancy is redressed herein. Scholars of environmental microbiology come from a variety of disciplines including Microbiology majors, Social Scientists, Engineering, Law (Environmental Law), Agriculturalists, Geography (GIS), Chemists (Environmental Chemists), Toxicologists and so forth. Considering such a diverse audience, not everyone will be content with the depth accorded to all aspects of the topic. However, the reader will find the extensive references rich resources for more in-depth data. The material presented here recognizes the basic foundations and importance of conventional microbiological techniques (which focused greatly on culture-based studies), linking them with information from more recent nonconventional techniques. Various principles are also applied which attest to the undisputable reality that microbes in pure culture may function somewhat differently than in complex multispecies environmental matrices.This book is unique in that the subject is approached from a history of microbes and their places in shaping the environment, rather than a history of microbiology. This approach properly introduces the reader to the several different microorganisms and then unveils the role of each in the environment. That environmental degradation is more prevalent in developing countries is a commonly recognized fact. This book covers the basic concepts of water treatment and modes of application in a variety of backgrounds and economic settings. Basic microbiological concepts such as physiology, genetics, and metabolism are discussed with reference to ecological concepts and biochemical cycling. A chapter on environmental biotechnology is also included.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578083486
• ISBN13: 9781578083480
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Science Pub Inc
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 7.0"