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"TRUE" BACTERIA
"For 2 billion years there was nothing but Bacteria on earth.
Some of them formed giant algal mats. Although they are tiny, Bacteria actually
rule the earth. Without Bacteria all life on earth will cease."
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| DR. NILES ELDREDGE, CURATOR, DEPARTMENT
OF INVERTEBRATES |
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KNOWN SPECIES
3,000 to 4,000; Possibly 1 million
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SIZE RANGE
0.2 micrometers to 0.6 millimeters
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WHERE THEY LIVE
In all environments, including inside other organisms
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ECOLOGICAL ROLES AND HUMAN USES
Decomposers; Photosynthesizers; At the base of the food chain;
Disease Causers • Cycle nitrogen and other elements crucial to living systems •
Replenish the earth's oxygen • Feed on and break down animal and plant wastes,
pollutants, and toxins, and recycle their nutrients to the environment •
Essential residents in humans and other organisms • Used as a source of medicines
(antibiotics), as food, and in food preservation and agriculture
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