2.1 Diversity of Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria can be found in nearly all environments, and they can generally
survive anywhere where there is enough sunlight for photosynthesis. They are
found in a wide variety of habitats which includes ponds, rivers, lakes, estuaries,
oceans, soils, and snow. They can be free-floating in the water or attached to some
substrate. Cyanobacteria have great diversity from fresh water to marine water and
extreme environmental condition. Cyanobacteria with greater species richness make
better use of niche opportunities in an environment, allowing them to capture a
higher proportion of available resources (Cardinale 2011). The great variety of
Purple bacteria
Cyanobacteria
Gram-positive
Crenarchaeota
Euryarchaeota
Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya
Deinococci
Green nonsulfur
bacteria
Spirochetes
Thermotogales
Diplomonads
Tree of Life
Microsporidia
Trichomonads
Flagellates
Ciliates
Plants
Fungi
Animals
Slime
molds
Halophiles
Chlamydiae Thermococcus
Thermoproteus
Pyrodictium
Flavobacteria
Aquifex
Methanobacterium
Methanococcus
Methanosarcina
Entamoebae
Thermoplasma
Fig. 16.1 Tree of cyanobacterial life. (Adapted from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/fedor_
kara/gallery.htm)
Fig. 16.2 Nostoc, filamentous cyanobacteria with heterocyst’s under a light microscope
392
S. Mona et al.
Cyanobacteria can be found in nearly all environments, and they can generally
survive anywhere where there is enough sunlight for photosynthesis. They are
found in a wide variety of habitats which includes ponds, rivers, lakes, estuaries,
oceans, soils, and snow. They can be free-floating in the water or attached to some
substrate. Cyanobacteria have great diversity from fresh water to marine water and
extreme environmental condition. Cyanobacteria with greater species richness make
better use of niche opportunities in an environment, allowing them to capture a
higher proportion of available resources (Cardinale 2011). The great variety of
Purple bacteria
Cyanobacteria
Gram-positive
Crenarchaeota
Euryarchaeota
Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya
Deinococci
Green nonsulfur
bacteria
Spirochetes
Thermotogales
Diplomonads
Tree of Life
Microsporidia
Trichomonads
Flagellates
Ciliates
Plants
Fungi
Animals
Slime
molds
Halophiles
Chlamydiae Thermococcus
Thermoproteus
Pyrodictium
Flavobacteria
Aquifex
Methanobacterium
Methanococcus
Methanosarcina
Entamoebae
Thermoplasma
Fig. 16.1 Tree of cyanobacterial life. (Adapted from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/fedor_
kara/gallery.htm)
Fig. 16.2 Nostoc, filamentous cyanobacteria with heterocyst’s under a light microscope
392
S. Mona et al.