about bacteria

These are all types of bacteria named after the conditions in which they live and thrive, hence the "-phile" suffix. They're all known as extremophiles, in that they survive in extreme conditions on Earth that few other organisms can survive in. These bacteria are often producers in extremophile communities, in the same way that plants are producers in normal communities, being the initial food source for everything else.Halophiles live in highly salty conditions (salt is sodium chloride, and chlorine is a halogen, hence halo-), and are found in oceans and salt lakes.Thermoacidophiles live in hot, acidic conditions (thermo- being hot, acido- being acidic), such as hot springs and thermal vents deep in the ocean. They were one of the first organisms discovered that survive without light. If you imagine any normal food chain they start with plants (producers) which get their energy from sunlight. The bacteria that live in deep-sea thermal vents are never exposed to sunlight, or any type of light at all, and they are the producers in the food chains that exist in those extreme conditions.Methanogens survive in anoxic conditions (little-to-no oxygen) and produce methane. They're found in marshes (produce marsh gas, i.e. methane), and in the digestive tracts of ruminants such as cows, helping them digest their food but producing large amounts of methane which is burped or farted out by the cows, which is why dairy farming is considered so harmful to the environment as methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.Archaebacteria is the overall group that extremophilic bacteria are placed in.I hope that some of this has helped! Let me know if I can help more.