Editing Endolith (section)

==Ecology==
As most endoliths are [[autotroph]]s, they can generate organic compounds essential for their survival on their own from inorganic matter. Some endoliths have specialized in feeding on their autotroph relatives.  The micro-[[biotope]] where these different endolithic species live together has been called a ''[[Subsurface Lithoautotrophic Microbial Ecosystem|subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystem]]'' (''SLiME''),<ref name="slime">{{cite web|title=Frequently Requested Information about the SLiME Hypothesis|url=http://www.pnl.gov/slme/SLiME_FAQs.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060930140112/http://www.pnl.gov/slme/SLiME_FAQs.html|archive-date=30 September 2006}}</ref> or ''endolithic systems'' within the subterranean lithic [[biome]].

''Endolithic systems'' are still at an early stage of exploration. In some cases its biota can support simple invertebrates, most organisms are unicellular. Near-surface layers of rock may contain blue-green algae but most energy comes from chemical synthesis of minerals. The limited supply of energy limits the rates of growth and reproduction. In deeper rock layers microbes are exposed to high pressures and temperatures.<ref>{{cite book |first1=DA |last1=Keith |first2=TM |last2=Iliffe |first3=V |last3=Gerovasileiou| first4=B |last4=Gonzalez |first5=D |last5=Brankovits |first6=A |last6=Martínez García |year=2020 |chapter=S1.2 Endolithic systems |chapter-url=https://global-ecosystems.org/explore/groups/S1.2 |editor1-last=Keith |editor1-first=D.A. |editor2-last=Ferrer-Paris |editor2-first=J.R. |editor3-last=Nicholson |editor3-first=E. |editor4-last=Kingsford |editor4-first=R.T. |title=The IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology 2.0: Descriptive profiles for biomes and ecosystem functional groups |location=Gland, Switzerland |publisher=IUCN | doi=10.2305/IUCN.CH.2020.13.en | isbn= 978-2-8317-2077-7|s2cid=241360441 }}</ref>