@article {4940, title = {McMurdo Dry Valley lake edge {\textquoteleft}moats{\textquoteright}: The ecological intersection between terrestrial and aquatic polar desert habitat}, journal = {Antarctic Science}, year = {2024}, month = {04/2024}, pages = {1 - 17}, abstract = {

Aquatic ecosystems - lakes, ponds and streams - are hotspots of biodiversity in the cold and arid environment of Continental Antarctica. Environmental change is expected to increasingly alter Antarctic aquatic ecosystems and modify the physical characteristics and interactions within the habitats that they support. Here, we describe physical and biological features of the peripheral \‘moat\’ of a closed-basin Antarctic lake. These moats mediate connectivity amongst streams, lake and soils. We highlight the cyclical moat transition from a frozen winter state to an active open-water summer system, through refreeze as winter returns. Summer melting begins at the lakebed, initially creating an ice-constrained lens of liquid water in November, which swiftly progresses upwards, creating open water in December. Conversely, freezing progresses slowly from the water surface downwards, with water at 1 m bottom depth remaining liquid until May. Moats support productive, diverse benthic communities that are taxonomically distinct from those under the adjacent permanent lake ice. We show how ion ratios suggest that summer exchange occurs amongst moats, streams, soils and sub-ice lake water, perhaps facilitated by within-moat density-driven convection. Moats occupy a small but dynamic area of lake habitat, are disproportionately affected by recent lake-level rises and may thus be particularly vulnerable to hydrological change.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, connectivity, ecosystem, ice, microbial mats, transition}, issn = {0954-1020}, doi = {10.1017/S0954102024000087}, url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/mcmurdo-dry-valley-lake-edge-moats-the-ecological-intersection-between-terrestrial-and-aquatic-polar-desert-habitats/31D94DD51E651603482A3AE6E8A52A57}, author = {Stone, Michael S. and Devlin, Shawn and Ian Hawes and Kathleen A. Welch and Michael N. Gooseff and Cristina D. Takacs-Vesbach and Rachael M. Morgan-Kiss and Byron Adams and John E. Barrett and John C. Priscu and Peter T. Doran} } @article {4713, title = {Blowin{\textquoteright} in the wind: Dispersal, structure, and metacommunity dynamics of aeolian diatoms in the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica}, journal = {Journal of Phycology}, volume = {58}, year = {2022}, month = {02/2022}, pages = {36-54}, abstract = {

Diatom metacommunities are structured by environmental, historical, and spatial factors that are often attributed to organism dispersal. In the McMurdo Sound region (MSR) of Antarctica, wind connects aquatic habitats through delivery of inorganic and organic matter. We evaluated the dispersal of diatoms in aeolian material and its relation to the regional diatom metacommunity using light microscopy and 18S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. The concentration of diatoms ranged from 0 to 8.76 * 106 valves \· g-1 dry aeolian material. Up to 15\% of whole cells contained visible protoplasm, indicating that up to 3.43 * 104 potentially viable individuals could be dispersed in a year to a single 2 cm2\ site. Diatom DNA and RNA was detected at each site, reinforcing the likelihood that we observed dispersal of viable diatoms. Of the 50 known morphospecies in the MSR, 72\% were identified from aeolian material using microscopy. Aeolian community composition varied primarily by site. Meanwhile, each aeolian community was comprised of morphospecies found in aquatic communities from the same lake basin. These results suggest that aeolian diatom dispersal in the MSR is spatially structured, is predominantly local, and connects local aquatic habitats via a shared species pool. Nonetheless, aeolian community structure was distinct from that of aquatic communities, indicating that intrahabitat dispersal and environmental filtering also underlie diatom metacommunity dynamics. The present study confirms that a large number of diatoms are passively dispersed by wind across a landscape characterized by aeolian processes, integrating the regional flora and contributing to metacommunity structure and landscape connectivity.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, 18S rRNA, airborne, algae, assembly, Bacillariophyta, biogeography, connectivity, high-throughput sequencing}, issn = {0022-3646}, doi = {10.1111/jpy.13223}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpy.13223}, author = {Schulte, Nicholas O. and Khan, Alia L. and Smith, Emma W. and Zoumplis, Angela and Kaul, Drishti and Allen, Andrew E. and Adams, Byron J. and Diane M. McKnight} } @article {4817, title = {Islands in the ice: Potential impacts of habitat transformation on Antarctic biodiversity}, journal = {Global Change Biology}, year = {2022}, month = {07/2022}, abstract = {

Antarctic biodiversity faces an unknown future with a changing climate. Most terrestrial biota is restricted to limited patches of ice-free land in a sea of ice, where they are adapted to the continent\&$\#$39;s extreme cold and wind and exploit microhabitats of suitable conditions. As temperatures rise, ice-free areas are predicted to expand, more rapidly in some areas than others. There is high uncertainty as to how species\&$\#$39; distributions, physiology, abundance, and survivorship will be affected as their habitats transform. Here we use current knowledge to propose hypotheses that ice-free area expansion (i) will increase habitat availability, though the quality of habitat will vary; (ii) will increase structural connectivity, although not necessarily increase opportunities for species establishment; (iii) combined with milder climates will increase likelihood of non-native species establishment, but may also lengthen activity windows for all species; and (iv) will benefit some species and not others, possibly resulting in increased homogeneity of biodiversity. We anticipate considerable spatial, temporal, and taxonomic variation in species responses, and a heightened need for interdisciplinary research to understand the factors associated with ecosystem resilience under future scenarios. Such research will help identify at-risk species or vulnerable localities and is crucial for informing environmental management and policymaking into the future.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, Antarctica, biodiversity, biotic homogenization, climate change, connectivity, ice-free, non-native species}, doi = {10.1111/gcb.16331}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.16331}, author = {Lee, Jasmine R. and Waterman, Melinda J. and Shaw, Justine D. and Bergstrom, Dana M. and Lynch, Heather J. and Diana H. Wall and Robinson, Sharon A.} }