course description

Yellowstone is one of the best natural laboratories for learning about microorganisms. Essential to life on earth, many of these microbes work wonders in a world invisible to the naked eye, yet in the hot springs they reveal themselves as colorful mats. Yellowstone’s thermal springs are home to a vast diversity of microbes that thrive at extremes most life would not. In this microbial ‘walkabout’ to Shoshone Geyser Basin, we will explore the environments in which these organisms thrive and study their role in rebuilding fire-disturbed soils, the fundamental role microbes play in the nutrition of bison, and how microbes thrive in extreme environments such as high temperatures and high radiation. We will consider their biotechnological value and why managing microbial resources is important to the park, and consider whether Yellowstone’s thermal springs might reveal something about life on other planets, and how life may have evolved on Earth.