Role of Microbes in Eco-Remediation of Perturbed Aquatic Ecosystem

Abstract

Anthropogenic and natural hazards put aquatic ecosystem under severe stress due to organic and inorganic pollutants and calls for remediation. Eco-remediation, an ecological blessing for ecosystem stabilization refers to the restoration of the perturbing ecosystem to its original balanced state with a multi-purpose approaches for removing pollutants by vast array of biological components. Aquatic habitats and biodiversity are adversely affected by indiscriminate pollution along with rising levels of carbon dioxide. To overcome the aquatic stress of various pollutants, microorganisms significantly imparting crucial roles in environmentally sustainable bioremediation approaches by adapting themselves in order to survive in perturbed ecosystems resulting in the environmental remediation. This chapter attempts to deal with eco-remediation of ecosystems perturbed by various hazardous pollutants by focusing the degrading and transforming of contaminants into less toxic forms by microbes and carbon sequestration through heterotrophic pathway applying different ex situ or in situ detoxifying mechanisms. Considering the high eco-remedial efficiencies, microbial eco-remediation technologies could be applied as an emerging approach in restoring perturbed aquatic ecosystems in ecological engineering systems.