@article {5021, title = {Chemical signatures of microbial life in an ecological end-member: Shifting hydroclimate and sediment fluxes influence DOM biogeochemistry in Lake Fryxell, a permanently ice-covered lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica}, journal = {Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research}, volume = {57}, year = {2025}, month = {04/2025}, pages = {2478678}, abstract = {

The ice-covered lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) of Antarctica provide end-member ecosystems for understanding the production of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems in the absence of vegetation on the landscape and under resource and nutrient constraints. Given these constraints, DOM in MDV lakes is derived solely from microbial phototrophs and heterotrophic bacteria, contrasting with the dominant terrestrial sources in temperate regions. Previous research developed fluorometric approaches for characterizing DOM, including in MDV lakes. In this study we leveraged these approaches along with contemporary molecular-based techniques to elucidate changes in DOM composition across the depth profile for Lake Fryxell in the MDV. The results showed that the presence of organic molecules containing sulfur increased at depth where anoxic conditions prevailed. To evaluate the influences of climate-induced rising lake levels and multiple flood events in the MDV, we compared recent and historical samples. The results indicated a remarkable consistency in source-related fluorescence metrics over time, whereas a twofold decrease in sulfur content of the fulvic acid fraction was observed in samples from above and below the oxycline. Biogeochemical processes associated with the influx of iron oxide\–rich sediments during flood events may have contributed to this change, and similar processes may stimulate biogeochemical cycling and remineralization in temperate lakes during seasonal transitions.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, biogeochemistry, DOM, lake metabolism, limnology, nutrient cycling}, doi = {10.1080/15230430.2025.2478678}, url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15230430.2025.2478678}, author = {Garrett P. Rue and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {4627, title = {Connectivity: Insights from the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network}, journal = {Ecosphere}, volume = {12}, year = {2021}, month = {05/2021}, pages = {e03432}, abstract = {

Ecosystems across the United States are changing in complex and surprising ways. Ongoing demand for critical ecosystem services requires an understanding of the populations and communities in these ecosystems in the future. This paper represents a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network addressing the core research area of \“populations and communities.\” The objective of this effort was to show the importance of long-term data collection and experiments for addressing the hardest questions in scientific ecology that have significant implications for environmental policy and management. Each LTER site developed at least one compelling case study about what their site could look like in 50\–100 yr as human and environmental drivers influencing specific ecosystems change. As the case studies were prepared, five themes emerged, and the studies were grouped into papers in this LTER Futures Special Feature addressing state change, connectivity, resilience, time lags, and cascading effects. This paper addresses the \“connectivity\” theme and has examples from the Phoenix (urban), Niwot Ridge (alpine tundra), McMurdo Dry Valleys (polar desert), Plum Island (coastal), Santa Barbara Coastal (coastal), and Jornada (arid grassland and shrubland) sites. Connectivity has multiple dimensions, ranging from multi-scalar interactions in space to complex interactions over time that govern the transport of materials and the distribution and movement of organisms. The case studies presented here range widely, showing how land-use legacies interact with climate to alter the structure and function of arid ecosystems and flows of resources and organisms in Antarctic polar desert, alpine, urban, and coastal marine ecosystems. Long-term ecological research demonstrates that connectivity can, in some circumstances, sustain valuable ecosystem functions, such as the persistence of foundation species and their associated biodiversity or, it can be an agent of state change, as when it increases wind and water erosion. Increased connectivity due to warming can also lead to species range expansions or contractions and the introduction of undesirable species. Continued long-term studies are essential for addressing the complexities of connectivity. The diversity of ecosystems within the LTER network is a strong platform for these studies.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, alpine tundra, Antarctic polar desert, arid grassland, arid shrubland, coastal, estuary, salt marsh, Special Feature: Forecasting Earth{\textquoteright}s Ecosystems with Long-Term Ecological Research, urban ecosystem}, issn = {2150-8925}, doi = {10.1002/ecs2.v12.510.1002/ecs2.3432}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3432}, author = {Iwaniec, David M. and Michael N. Gooseff and Suding, Katharine N. and Johnson, David Samuel and Reed, Daniel C. and Debra P. C. Peters and Byron Adams and John E. Barrett and Bestelmeyer, Brandon T. and Castorani, Max C. N. and Cook, Elizabeth M. and Davidson, Melissa J. and Groffman, Peter M. and Hanan, Niall P. and Huenneke, L and Johnson, Pieter T. J. and Diane M. McKnight and Miller, Robert J. and Okin, Gregory S. and Preston, Daniel L. and Rassweiler, Andrew and Ray, Chris and Osvaldo E. Sala and Schooley, Robert and Seastedt, Timothy and Spasojevic, Marko J. and Vivoni, Enrique R.} } @mastersthesis {4762, title = {Controls on microbial mat coverage and diatom species turnover in Antarctic desert streams: A transplant experiment}, volume = {M.S.}, year = {2021}, school = {University of Colorado Boulder}, type = {masters}, address = {Boulder, CO}, abstract = {

This thesis evaluates how polar desert streams regulate benthic microbial mat coverage, chlorophyll-a biomass, and diatom species composition. Microbial mats growing on rocks (eplithon) and on sandy substrate (epipelon) were reciprocally transplanted among four glaciers meltwater streams and monitored through time. The selected study streams were Green Creek, Bowles Creek, Delta Stream, Von Guerard Stream in the Lake Fryxell Basin in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. These streams vary in length, streamflow intermittency, and diatom community composition of microbial mats. Results demonstrate that streams strongly control mat biomass (coverage and chlorophyll-a) differently for epilithon and epipelon. However, diatom species composition did not vary between these growth habitats but instead varied by stream, suggesting adaptive niche separation related to environmental conditions. Diatom species composition of transplants in Green Creek became dissimilar from their initial stream communities suggesting downstream dispersal and within stream connectivity regulates community assembly. This experiment confirms that environmental characteristics and intra-stream dispersal processes exert strong control over maintaining microbial mat coverage, biomass accrual, and diatom species composition.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, diatom, microbial mat, streams, transplant, turnover}, url = {https://www.proquest.com/docview/2634590982}, author = {Darling, Joshua P.}, editor = {Diane M. McKnight} } @phdthesis {4587, title = {Characterization of spatial and environmental influences on stream diatoms and cyanobacteria}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2020}, month = {2020}, school = {University of Colorado Boulder}, type = {doctoral}, address = {Boulder, CO}, abstract = {

Primary producing algae form the basis of carbon fixation, oxygen production, and food webs in aquatic ecosystems globally. However, human activities disrupt climate and freshwater physicochemistry. These impacts alter the health of algal communities and the ecosystem services algae provide. Meanwhile, spatial processes like dispersal and landscape characteristics like geology also influence algal structure and function. Diatoms are indicators of stream health and are model organisms for understanding the processes underlying microbial biogeography. Benthic cyanobacteria present risks to human health through the proliferation of toxin-producing blooms. With this dissertation, I investigate the ecosystem processes that influence diatom and cyanobacterial community composition and taxon distributions. My goal is to advance the understanding of ecosystem controls on algal biogeography and to characterize taxon-specific autecology for use in environmental management. First, I measured the extent of wind-mediated dispersal of benthic diatoms across aquatic habitats to better understand how community composition is structured by spatial processes across the McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert in Antarctica. I found that inter-habitat dispersal is common but less influential on community composition than intra-habitat factors such as environmental conditions. I then used non-linear, multivariable modeling to assess the relative influences of climate, watershed characteristics, and in-stream stressors on the relative abundances of 268 diatom taxa across gradients of human impact in the northeast United States. My results indicate diatom taxa are affected by different suites of environmental conditions but that taxa belong to ecological guilds based on shared responsiveness to environmental factors. Finally, I applied multivariable modeling towards understanding the effects of aquatic stressors, including herbicides and persistent organic pollutants, on the distributions of benthic cyanobacteria across northeast U.S. streams. I found that watershed characteristics, streamflow, and herbicides were more influential than light availability, water temperature, and nutrients on the distributions of potentially toxigenic cyanobacterial genera. Collectively, this research expands the knowledge of how benthic algal communities and taxon distributions are structured at large spatial scales along gradients of unimpacted and human-altered environmental conditions. I provide a novel modeling framework and taxon-specific autecological information that can be applied to environmental assessments of stream health and future algal research.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, algae, dispersal, environmental assessment, human disturbance, metacommunity ecology, species distribution models}, url = {https://www.proquest.com/docview/2476216263}, author = {Schulte, Nicholas O. and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {4110, title = {Catch and release: Hyporheic retention and mineralization of N-fixing Nostoc sustains downstream microbial mat biomass in two polar desert streams}, journal = {Limnology and Oceanography Letters}, volume = {3}, year = {2018}, month = {07/2018}, pages = {357 - 364}, abstract = {

Much work has been performed to investigate controls on nitrogen (N) uptake in streams, yet the fate of assimilated N is comparatively poorly resolved. Here, we use in-stream fixed N as an isotopic tracer to study the fate of assimilated N in glacial meltwater streams. We characterized\ d15N signatures of Oscillatorean, Chlorophyte, and N-fixing\ Nostoc\ mats over the lengths of two streams, and transported particulate organic matter (POM) in one. POM was isotopically most similar to\ Nostoc, which always had values near the atmospheric standard, suggesting N-fixation. Other mat types were depleted upstream, and became progressively enriched downstream, indicating a shift in N source. These results collectively show that\ Nostoc-derived N is mobilized, mineralized, and increasingly assimilated downstream as more depleted glacier-derived N is exhausted, demonstrating the importance of organic matter processing to balancing elemental budgets, and improving our understanding of nutrient cycling in lotic environments.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1002/lol2.10087}, url = {https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/lol2.10087}, author = {Tyler J. Kohler and Lee F. Stanish and Liptzin, D. and John E. Barrett and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {1093, title = {The carbon stable isotope biogeochemistry of streams, Taylor Valley, Antarctica}, journal = {Applied Geochemistry}, volume = {32}, year = {2013}, month = {05/2013}, pages = {26 - 36}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1016/j.apgeochem.2012.08.019}, author = {W. Berry Lyons and Leslie, D.L. and Harmon, R.S. and Klaus Neumann and Kathleen A. Welch and Bisson, K. M. and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {1077, title = {Characterization of fulvic acid fractions of dissolved organic matter during ice-out in a hyper-eutrophic, coastal pond in Antarctica}, journal = {Environmental Research Letters}, volume = {8}, year = {2013}, month = {12/2013}, pages = {045015}, abstract = {Dissolved humic material (HDOM) is ubiquitous to all natural waters and its source material influences its chemical structure, reactivity, and bioavailability. While terrestrially derived HDOM reference materials distributed by the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) have been readily available to engineering and scientific communities, a microbially derived reference HDOM was not, despite the well-characterized differences in the chemistry and reactivity of HDOM derived from terrestrial versus microbial sources. To address this gap, we collected a microbial reference fulvic acid from Pony Lake (PLFA) for distribution through the IHSS. Pony Lake is a saline coastal pond on Ross Island, Antarctica, where the landscape is devoid of terrestrial plants. Sample collection occurred over a 17-day period in the summer season at Pony Lake. During this time, the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations increased nearly two-fold, and the fulvic acid fraction (collected using the XAD-8 method) accounted for 14.6\% of the DOC. During the re-concentration and desalting procedures we isolated two other chemically distinct fulvic acid fractions: (1) PLFA-2, which was high in carbohydrates and (2) PLFA-CER, which was high in nitrogen. The chemical characteristics (elemental analysis, optical characterization with UV{\textendash}vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, and 13C NMR spectroscopy) of the three fulvic acid fractions helped to explain their behavior during isolation.}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045015}, author = {Kaelin M. Cawley and Diane M. McKnight and Penney L. Miller and Rose M. Cory and Fimmen, Ryan L and Guerard, Jennifer and Markus Dieser and Chris Jaros and Yu-Ping Chin and Christine M. Foreman} } @article {1078, title = {Characterization of IHSS Pony Lake fulvic acid dissolved organic matter by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy}, journal = {Organic Geochemistry}, volume = {65}, year = {2013}, month = {12/2013}, pages = {19 - 28}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.09.013}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638013002167}, author = {D{\textquoteright}Andrilli, Juliana and Christine M. Foreman and Marshall, Alan G. and Diane M. McKnight} } @phdthesis {4191, title = {Controls on stream and hyporheic temperatures, Taylor Valley, Antarctica and large-scale climate influences on interannual flow variation in the Onyx River, Antarctica}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2009}, month = {2009}, pages = {317}, school = {University of Colorado}, type = {doctoral}, address = {Boulder, CO}, abstract = {

The McMurdo Dry Valleys comprise the largest ice-free polar desert on the continent of Antarctica. My Ph.D. research investigated summertime glacial meltwater streams flowing through this region. This work is presented in Chapters 2 through 6 of my thesis. Chapters 2-5 present the work I have done related to hyporheic processes while Chapter 6 focuses on the hydroclimatological investigations I have carried out.

More specifically, Chapter 2 addresses the question: what are the dominant processes controlling dry valley stream temperatures? In particular, this investigation quantified the role of hyporheic exchange. The study found that in the Dry Valleys, exchange acted to decrease stream temperatures, accounting for 6\–21\% of cooling.

Chapter 3 discusses a follow up tracer study to investigate whether the comparatively large daily changes in dry valley stream temperatures (6-9\°C) affect hyporheic processes, for instance through viscosity effects. Results showed that the hyporheic zone volume and exchange coefficient were lower during the warmer, afternoon stream/streambed temperature regime than during the cooler, morning one. A temperature-induced feedback mechanism that increases subsurface flow path preferentiality is proposed as a possible explanation for the reduction in hyporheic volume under warmer conditions. The tracer results also suggested a \“Swiss Cheese\” type conceptual model of the hyporheic zone in which flow takes place along paths weaving their way through isolated areas.

Chapter 4 presents work done to elucidate individual hyporheic flow path lengths and residence times. A streambed injection revealed some long (over 100 m) paths that were also fast, having subsurface travel times on par with the surface water. Hyporheic pipeflow is proposed as an explanation.

In Chapter 5 research is presented showing that nitrate and phosphate concentrations at specific locations in the hyporheic zone increase with the decreasing connectivity of that location to the stream.

Finally, Chapter 6 describes the large-scale climate conditions that prevailed during December and January during the highest and lowest flow summers of the Onyx River record, the longest flow record for Antarctica. Climate variables and regions in the Southern Hemisphere that had a statistically significant linear correlation to Onyx River flows were also identified. The highest flow summer on record, 2001-2, was found to have some unusual climate features when compared to the other high flow summers. It stands out as having an anomalous wind pattern that would have increased katabatic winds in the valleys, raising air temperatures and possibly depositing sediment on the glaciers, decreasing their albedo. It is also characterized by anomalously high incoming shortwave radiation. We postulate that those high levels may have been due in part to the unusually low concentrations of radiation absorbing stratospheric ozone prevalent over the valleys that particular summer.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, earth sciences, hydroclimatology, hyporheic flow paths, hyporheic zone, stream temperature}, url = {https://search.proquest.com/docview/304866366}, author = {Cozzetto, K and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {1293, title = {Comment on {\textquoteleft}{\textquoteleft}El Ni{\~n}o suppresses Antarctic warming{\textquoteright}{\textquoteright} by N. Bertler et al.}, journal = {Geophysical Research Letters}, volume = {32}, year = {2005}, pages = {L07706}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Tropical meteorology}, doi = {10.1029/2004GL021716}, author = {Peter T. Doran and Gary D. Clow and Christian H. Fritsen and Christopher P. McKay and Andrew N. Parsons and John C. Priscu and W. Berry Lyons and Walsh, J and Andrew G Fountain and Diane M. McKnight and Daryl L. Moorhead and Ross A. Virginia and Diana H. Wall} } @article {1325, title = {Changes in fulvic acid redox state through the oxycline of a permanently ice-covered Antarctic lake}, journal = {Aquatic Sciences}, volume = {66}, year = {2004}, pages = {1-20}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Fulton, J and Diane M. McKnight and Christine M. Foreman and Rose M. Cory and Stedmon, C and Blunt, E} } @inbook {1360, title = {Chemistry and lake dynamics of the Taylor Valley lakes, Antarctica: The importance of long-term monitoring.}, booktitle = {Antarctic Ecosystems: Models for Wider Ecological Understanding}, year = {2003}, publisher = {Caxton Press}, organization = {Caxton Press}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Kathleen A. Welch and Klaus Neumann and W. Berry Lyons and Diane M. McKnight}, editor = {Clive Howard-Williams and W. Davidson and P. Broady} } @mastersthesis {1388, title = {Climatic controls on interannual variation in streamflow in Fryxell Basin, Taylor Valley}, volume = {M.S.}, year = {2002}, school = {University of Colorado}, type = {masters}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, doi = {LTER}, author = {Chris Jaros} } @inbook {1426, title = {Climate and hydrologic variations and implications for lake and stream ecological response in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica}, booktitle = {Climate Variability and Ecosystem Response at Long Term Ecological Research Sites}, year = {2000}, pages = {174-195}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, organization = {Oxford University Press}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Kathleen A. Welch and W. Berry Lyons and Diane M. McKnight and Chris Jaros and Andrew G Fountain and Thomas H. Nylen and Peter T. Doran and Clive Howard-Williams}, editor = {D. Greenland and D. G. Goodin and R. C. Smith} } @mastersthesis {1537, title = {Climatic controls on streamflow generation from Antarctic glaciers}, volume = {M.S.}, year = {1998}, school = {University of Colorado Boulder}, type = {masters}, address = {Boulder, CO}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Bomblies, Arne and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {1546, title = {Canada Stream: a glacial meltwater stream in Taylor Valley, South Victoria Land, Antarctica}, journal = {Journal of the North American Benthological Society}, volume = {16}, year = {1997}, pages = {14-17}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Diane M. McKnight and Cathy M. Tate} } @inbook {1549, title = {Chemical weathering rates and reactions in the Lake Fryxell Basin, Taylor Valley : Comparison to temperate river basins}, booktitle = {Ecosystem Processes in Antarctic Ice-free Landscapes}, year = {1997}, pages = {147-154}, publisher = {Balkema Press, Rotterdam}, organization = {Balkema Press, Rotterdam}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {W. Berry Lyons and Kathleen A. Welch and C. A. Nezat and K. Crick and Jeffrey K. Toxey and J.A. Mastrine and Diane M. McKnight} }