Cyanobacteria is Key to Life on EarthStromatolites: are about 3.5 billion years old, calcareous mounds built up of layers of lime-secreting cyanobacteria and trapped sediment, found in Precambrian rocks as the earliest known fossils, and still being formed in lagoons in Australasia. Types of cells:
Prokaryotes: about 3.5 billion years ago, a microscopic single-celled organism that has neither a distinct nucleus with a membrane nor other specialized organelles.
Prokaryotic cells have a cell wall, eukaryotic cells do not Endosymbiotic Theory: the theory that free-living prokaryotic cells engulfed (ate) other free-living prokaryotic cells billions of years ago, forming eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts Cyanobacteria Species  cyanobacteria live in soil crusts, even in the desert  Cyanobacteria help plants get nitrogen and help keep soil together, preventing erosion and protecting the roots of cacti multi-cellular beings are a new conceptFor billions of years there were only algae species, early plants (bryophytes) are not seen until around 630 million years ago. There were millions of single celled beings, but there is no record of multi cellular creatures. There was a big shift approximately 500 million years ago (the Cambrian Explosion), one of the major theories is that mushroom species made it to the planet on meteorites or comets, Prototaxites was a giant prehistoric mushroom that has been found in the fossil record with tiny holes, and other evidence of being consumed by microscopic beings, and then progressively larger creatures. Soon after that, we see a diversity of species that use the same protein as the mushroom, chitin. Sea sponges are considered the ancestor of all animals and have chitin in their tissues, it is also found in crustaceans and insects. Here is an article: 505–million-year-old chitin, found in exceptionally well preserved Vauxia gracilenta sponges. PlanktonPlankton are the diverse collection of organisms that live in large bodies of water and are unable to swim against a current. The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. They provide a crucial source of food to many large aquatic organisms, such as fish and whales. Zooplankton: Animals Phytoplankton: Photosynthesize Where Plankton LivesThere is a delicate balance, we don't want too much or not enough phytoplankton. Thinner ice leads to more algal bloom, this is good only to some extent. Phytoplankton absorb CO2, produce oxygen, and provide food for zooplankton. Plankton StoriesFOssil FUelsThere have been Many Ice Ages  Milankovitch CyclesIce reflects light, too much ice would reflect sunlight, make the earth cooler, lead to more ice, and lead to an Ice Age. We need a balance within polar ice cover, enough to foster the growth of plankton but not too much, to avoid another ice age.  vostok ice core Las Cruces, NM Climate PatternsClick below to see the ebbs and flows, ups and downs of temperatures in our city. Methane in LakeExcess carbon has been found in frozen lakes: mass ExtinctionsSpecies come and go for reasons such as temperature, oxygen levels, & food availability. 
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