03959nas a2200205 4500008004100000022001400041245008900055210006900144260001200213300001600225490000700241520327000248100001403518700002303532700001503555700002303570700002103593700002203614856011703636 2015 eng d a0722-406000aCyanobacterial diversity in benthic mats of the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, Antarctica0 aCyanobacterial diversity in benthic mats of the McMurdo Dry Vall c01/2015 a1097 - 11100 v383 a
Perennially ice-covered, meromictic lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are useful models to study the relationship between cyanobacterial and environmental variables. They have rich benthic cyanobacterial mat accumulations and stable stratification of physical and chemical conditions. Here, we evaluated cyanobacteria from benthic mats from multiple depths in three geographically separated ice-covered lakes, Lakes Vanda, Hoare and Joyce, using 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. We identified 19 ribotypes, mostly Oscillatoriales and several
Chroococcales, as well as potentially novel cyanobacterial ribotypes. The majority of ribotype diversity was shared between lakes, and only a weak relationship between ribotype community structure and environmental variables was evident. Multivariate analysis of all lake–depth combinations implied that photosynthetically active radiation, dissolved reactive phosphorus and conductivity were potentially important for shaping benthic communities in McMurdo Dry Valley lakes. Cyanobacterial-specific pigment signature analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography
showed that the cyanobacterial communities responded to light conditions similarly, irrespective of community composition. The results imply a capability within a suite of cyanobacteria to colonise, adapt and grow across broad environmental ranges and geographic space, and such adaptability may provide a high degree of community resistance and resilience to future climate-driven environmental change in Antarctic terrestrial aquatic
ecosystems.
1 aZhang, L.1 aJungblut, Anne, D.1 aHawes, Ian1 aAndersen, Dale, T.1 aSumner, Dawn, Y.1 aMackey, Tyler, J. uhttp://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00300-015-1669-0http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-015-1669-0