ABSTRACT
The terms extreme and stressful environments have been used interchangeably to describe environments where certain abiotic parameter(s) restrict or prevent the growth of the majority of organisms. Zak and Wildman (2004) de›ned an extreme environment as “one that differs considerably from the range of culture conditions that we believe is normal, either in natural settings or in the laboratory.” This de›nition presents an anthropocentric view of the extreme condition. Instead of calling these environments extreme, Zak and Wildman prefer to call them “stressful environments.” Cooke and Rayner (1984) de›ned stress as “any form of continuously imposed environmental extreme which tends to restrict biomass production.” But extreme and stressful are not identical from an ecological point of view.
