beautiful pink biofilm in a Hawaiian lava tube cave. Upper right: black swirled patterns are microbial mat “biovermiculations” in Cueva de Villa Luz, a hydrogen sulfide-dominated cave in Tabasco, Mexico. Lower left: mineralogist Mike Spilde samples a mud-like, calcite rich biomat covering all surfaces in passage within Spider Cave, New Mexico, United States. Lower right: stringy biofilms, termed “snottites”, hang pendulously from the ceilings and wall projections in the sulfuric acid environment of Cueva de Villa Luz. (Photos by Kenneth Ingham) Biofilms: Figure 2. Scanning electron micrographs of cave biofilms: Upper left: Thiobacilli (hydrogen sulfideproducing extreme acid-loving bacteria) encrust the sticky slimes that

doi:10.4324/9780203483855-66

Chapter

beautiful pink biofilm in a Hawaiian lava tube cave. Upper right: black swirled patterns are microbial mat “biovermiculations” in Cueva de Villa Luz, a hydrogen sulfide-dominated cave in Tabasco, Mexico. Lower left: mineralogist Mike Spilde samples a mud-like, calcite rich biomat covering all surfaces in passage within Spider Cave, New Mexico, United States. Lower right: stringy biofilms, termed “snottites”, hang pendulously from the ceilings and wall projections in the sulfuric acid environment of Cueva de Villa Luz. (Photos by Kenneth Ingham) Biofilms: Figure 2. Scanning electron micrographs of cave biofilms: Upper left: Thiobacilli (hydrogen sulfideproducing extreme acid-loving bacteria) encrust the sticky slimes that

Chapter

beautiful pink biofilm in a Hawaiian lava tube cave. Upper right: black swirled patterns are microbial mat “biovermiculations” in Cueva de Villa Luz, a hydrogen sulfide-dominated cave in Tabasco, Mexico. Lower left: mineralogist Mike Spilde samples a mud-like, calcite rich biomat covering all surfaces in passage within Spider Cave, New Mexico, United States. Lower right: stringy biofilms, termed “snottites”, hang pendulously from the ceilings and wall projections in the sulfuric acid environment of Cueva de Villa Luz. (Photos by Kenneth Ingham) Biofilms: Figure 2. Scanning electron micrographs of cave biofilms: Upper left: Thiobacilli (hydrogen sulfideproducing extreme acid-loving bacteria) encrust the sticky slimes that

ABSTRACT

beautiful pink biofilm in a Hawaiian lava tube cave. Upper right: black swirled patterns are microbial mat “biovermiculations” in Cueva de Villa Luz, a hydrogen sulfide-dominated cave in Tabasco, Mexico. Lower left: mineralogist Mike Spilde samples a mud-like, calcite rich biomat covering all surfaces in passage within Spider Cave, New Mexico, United States. Lower right: stringy biofilms, termed “snottites”, hang pendulously from the ceilings and wall projections in the sulfuric acid environment of Cueva de Villa Luz. (Photos by Kenneth Ingham)