Climate Researchers find surprising diversity of microbes in glacial streams
Swiss researchers have discovered a surprising diversity of bacteria in glacial streams around the world. However, this diversity is already under threat as soon as it is discovered.
02.01.2025, 11:00
SDA
For over five years, a team led by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne collected and analyzed samples from 170 glacial streams. The aim of the project, called "Vanishing Glaciers", is to document these creatures before they disappear along with the glaciers. The results of these analyses were published on Wednesday and Thursday in two studies in the journals "Nature" and "Nature Microbiology".
The researchers show that these streams have a high microbial diversity. "Glacial streams are the most extreme freshwater ecosystems on Earth," research leader Tom Battin told the Keystone-SDA news agency. They had not expected to find high diversity under these extreme conditions.
