Oligotroph

Organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients
An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates of metabolism, and generally low population density. Oligotrophic environments are those that offer little to sustain life. These environments include deep oceanic sediments, caves, glacial and polar ice, deep subsurface soil, aquifers, ocean waters, and leached soils. Examples of oligotrophic organisms are the cave dwelling olm; the bacterium "Candidatus Pelagibacter communis", which is the most abundant organism in the ocean (with an estimated 2 × 1028 individuals in total); and lichens, with their extremely low metabolic rate. Etymologically, the word "oligotroph" is a combination of the Greek adjective oligos (ὀλίγος) meaning "few" and the adjective trophikos (τροφικός) meaning "feeding".

Plant adaptations to oligotrophic soils provide for greater and more efficient nutrient uptake, reduced nutrient consumption, and efficient nutrient storage. Improvements in nutrient uptake are facilitated by root adaptations such as nitrogen fixing root nodules, mycorrhizae and cluster roots. Consumption is reduced by very slow growth rates, and by efficient use of low availability nutrients; for example, the use of highly available ions to maintain turgor pressure, with low availability nutrients reserved for the building of tissues. Despite these adaptations, nutrient requirement typically exceed uptake during the growing season, so many oligotrophic plants have the ability to store nutrients, for example, in trunk tissues, when demand is low, and remobilise them when demand increases.

Oligotrophs occupy environments where the available nutrients offer little to sustain life. The term “oligotrophic” is commonly used to describe terrestrial and aquatic environments with very low concentrations of nitrates, iron, phosphates, and carbon sources. Oligotrophs have acquired survival mechanisms that involve the expression of genes during periods of low nutrient conditions, which has allowed them to find success in various environments. Despite the capability to live in low nutrient concentrations, oligotrophs may find difficulty surviving in nutrient rich environments. Below are some documented examples of oligotrophic environments in Antarctica:

Lake Vostok, a freshwater lake which has been isolated from the world beneath 4 km (2.5 mi) of Antarctic ice is frequently held to be a primary example of an oligotrophic environment. Analysis of ice samples showed ecologically separated microenvironments. Isolation of microorganisms from each microenvironment led to the discovery of a wide range of different microorganisms present within the ice sheet. Traces of fungi have also been observed which suggests potential for unique symbiotic interactions. Crooked Lake is an ultra oligotrophic glacial lake with a thin distribution of heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms. The microbial loop plays a big role in cycling nutrients and energy within this lake, despite particularly low bacterial abundance and productivity in these environments. Species discovered in this lake include Ochromonas, Chlamydomonas, Scourfeldia, Cryptomonas, Akistrodesmus falcatus, and Daphniopsis studeri (a microcrustacean). It is proposed that low competitive selection against Daphniopsis studeri has allowed the species to survive long enough to reproduce in nutrient limiting environments. Similar forests are found in the oligotrophic waters of the Patía River delta on the Pacific side of the Andes.

In the ocean, the subtropical gyres north and south of the equator are regions in which the nutrients required for phytoplankton growth (for instance, nitrate, phosphate and silicic acid) are strongly depleted all year round. These areas are described as oligotrophic and exhibit low surface chlorophyll. They are occasionally described as "ocean deserts".

The oligotrophic soil environments include agricultural soil, frozen soil, et cetera. Some factors, such as soil aggregates, pores and extracellular enzymes, may help water, oxygen and other nutrients diffuse into the soil. Collimonas is one of the species that are capable of living in the oligotrophic soil. In terms of polar areas, such as Antarctic and Arctic region, the soil environment is considered as oligotrophic because the soil is frozen with low biological activities.