Microbial ecology of hypersaline lakes in Western Australia and Victoria, Australia

Compared to prevalent alkaline to neutral hypersaline environments, acidic hypersaline environments have been scarcely studied. However, they hold interest to many researchers in that these environments have similar geological characteristics as those found in lithified strata on Mars. Unique, acidic hypersaline environments exist in Australia, along with environments possessing higher pH values. Sixteen different locations were targeted for sampling in this area for comparison of microbial communities among various pH values. Lake Brown was chosen for a detail microbial diversity study because fieldwork indicated that Lake Brown, located in Western Australia, possessed pH values of 3.1-4.5 and salinity between 13.0-23.0%...Thus, the study of Lake Brown, an acid hypersaline lake, can provide an opportunity to gain insight on the possible forms of life that might have existed on a previous wet Mars --Abstract, page iv