Agri Kultuur August / Augustus 2018 | Page 14

microbial community is structured so that each population contributes to its maintenance . Both positive and negative interactions occur between individuals within a single microbial population and between the diverse microbial populations of a community . These interactions permit some populations to reach sizes optimal for the resources available within the habitat . The totality of the interactions between populations maintains the ecological balance of the community .
The world of microbes is so extensive and diverse that it is been estimated that we have identified less than 1 % of microbial species . Our understanding of the microbial life in aquaponics systems is infinitesimal . Of bacteria alone , there are estimated to exist more than 1030 species .
Why are Microbes Important ? Microbes are single-cell organisms so tiny that millions can fit into the eye of a needle . They are the oldest form of life on earth . Microbe fossils date back more than 3.5 billion years to a time when the Earth was covered with oceans that regularly reached the boiling point , hundreds of millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the earth . Without microbes , we couldn ’ t eat or breathe . Without us , they ’ d probably be just fine . Understanding microbes is vital to understanding the past and the future of ourselves and our planet . Microbes are everywhere . There are more of them on a person ’ s hand than there are people on the entire planet ! Microbes are in the air we breathe , the ground we walk on , the food we eat — they ’ re inside us ! We couldn ’ t digest food without them — animals couldn ’ t , either . Without microbes we couldn ’ t grow , garbage wouldn ’ t decay and there would be a lot less oxygen to breathe . In fact , without these invisible companions , our planet wouldn ’ t survive as we know it !
To see the importance of microbes in an aquaponics system , let ’ s imagine what would happen without them . Of course , a system void of microbes is an impossibility . Microbes are everywhere and will find their way into your system . They will enter the system via the air , the water you use , the seeds you plant and the media you plant them in , in the guts and
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