LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Rio Tinto
built 655 days ago
Spain’s Rio Tinto is characterized by deep red water that is highly acidic (pH 1.7 – 2.5) and rich in heavy metals. Over 5000 years of mining pollution have contributed to the river becoming an extreme environment, although the presence of chemolithotrophic organisms, such as iron-oxidizing bacteria and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, are thought to be the true culprits to the river's condition. Home to many unusual organisms, the most remarkable findings to date may be the unexpected degree of eukaryotic diversity in the acidic water. The diversity of these eukaryotes, both alkaliphilic and toxitolerant, is much greater than that of the prokaryotes... challenging beliefs that extreme environments are always dominated by Eubacteria and Archaea.
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Rio Tinto