Introduction -- Elements, biochemicals, and structures of microbes -- Physical-chemical environment of microbes -- Microbial primary production and phototrophy -- Degradation of organic material -- Microbial growth, biomass production, and controls -- Microbial growth, biomass production, and controls -- Predations and protists -- Ecology of viruses -- Community structure of microbes in natural environments -- Gnomes and metagenomes of microbes and viruses -- Processes in anoxic environments -- The nitrogen cycle -- Introduction to geomicrobiology -- Symbiosis and microbes.Cover; Table of Contents; Chapter 1 Introduction; What is a microbe?; Why study microbial ecology?; Microbes cause diseases of macroscopic organisms, including humans; Much of our food depends on microbes; Microbes degrade and detoxify pollutants; Microbes can be useful model systems for exploring general principles in ecology and evolution; Some microbes are examples of early life on earth and perhaps of life on other planets; Microbes mediate many biogeochemical processes that affect global climate; Microbes are everywhere, doing nearly everything; How do we study microbes in nature?