Fog can act as a vector for microbes, transferring them long distances and introducing them into new environments.
So reports an analysis of the microbiology of coastal fog, recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
Co-author Kathleen Weathers, a Senior Scientist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, explains, “Fog’s role in transporting water and nutrients to coastal areas is well documented. Far less is known about the biology of fog, including the communities of microbes that live in fog droplets, and how they travel between marine and terrestrial ecosystems.”
The research team tracked fungal and bacterial communities in fog delivered to two fog-dominated sites: Southport Island, Maine in the United States and the Namib Desert in Namibia. Their aim: to better understand how fog influences the transport of microbes from the Atlantic Ocean into these fog-fed terrestrial ecosystems.
Continue reading at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Image via Science of the Total Environment
