02559nas a2200301 4500008004100000245008000041210006900121260001200190300001200202490000700214520166000221653001501881653001601896653002901912653001801941653001201959100002901971700001802000700002202018700002002040700002202060700001202082700001602094700002602110700002102136700003302157856006702190 2024 eng d00aSentinel protist taxa of the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes, Antarctica: A review0 aSentinel protist taxa of the McMurdo Dry Valley lakes Antarctica c03/2024 a13234720 v123 a

High-latitude meromictic lakes such as those in the Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) harbor aquatic ecosystems dominated by the microbial loop. Within this habitat, which is limited year-round by light and nutrients, protists, or single celled eukaryotes, play outsized roles in the food web as the dominant primary producers and the apex predators. Thus, the MDV lake ecosystem represents an ideal system to study the role of sentinel protist taxa in carbon and nutrient cycling. The perennially ice-covered lakes are part of the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research (McM LTER; mcmlter.org) established in 1993. In this review we will highlight the diversity and trophic roles of the MDV lake protist community and compare environmental factors driving spatiotemporal patterns in key protist taxa in two lakes within the McM LTER, Lakes Bonney and Fryxell. We will then discuss lessons learned from manipulated experiments on the impact of current and future climate-driven environmental change on sensitive protist taxa. Last, we will integrate knowledge gained from 25 years of lab-controlled experiments on key photosynthetic protists to extend our understanding of the function of these extremophiles within the MDV aquatic food webs. Our research group has studied the distribution and function of the MDV microbial community for nearly two decades, training the next generation of scientists to tackle future problems of these globally significant microbes. This review article will also highlight early career scientists who have contributed to this body of work and represent the future of scientific understanding in the Anthropocene.

10aAntarctica10aDisturbance10aMcMurdo Dry Valley lakes10aphytoplankton10aprotist1 aMorgan-Kiss, Rachael, M.1 aPopson, Devon1 aPereira, Rochelle1 aDolhi-Binder, J1 aTeufel, Amber, G.1 aLi, Wei1 aKalra, Isha1 aSherwell, Shasten, S.1 aReynebeau, Emily1 aTakacs-Vesbach, Cristina, D. uhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.132347202219nas a2200349 4500008004100000022001400041245012300055210006900178260001200247520113200259653000901391653001901400653001601419653001201435653000901447653001301456100002001469700002501489700001601514700002501530700002101555700001701576700002501593700002501618700002101643700002501664700002601689700002201715700002301737700001801760856009101778 2022 eng d a0006-356800aCross-site comparisons of dryland ecosystem response to climate change in the US Long-Term Ecological Research Network0 aCrosssite comparisons of dryland ecosystem response to climate c c08/20223 a

Long-term observations and experiments in diverse drylands reveal how ecosystems and services are responding to climate change. To develop generalities about climate change impacts at dryland sites, we compared broadscale patterns in climate and synthesized primary production responses among the eight terrestrial, nonforested sites of the United States Long-Term Ecological Research (US LTER) Network located in temperate (Southwest and Midwest) and polar (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. All sites experienced warming in recent decades, whereas drought varied regionally with multidecadal phases. Multiple years of wet or dry conditions had larger effects than single years on primary production. Droughts, floods, and wildfires altered resource availability and restructured plant communities, with greater impacts on primary production than warming alone. During severe regional droughts, air pollution from wildfire and dust events peaked. Studies at US LTER drylands over more than 40 years demonstrate reciprocal links and feedbacks among dryland ecosystems, climate-driven disturbance events, and climate change.

10aANPP10aclimate change10aDisturbance10adrought10aLTER10awildfire1 aHudson, Amy, R.1 aPeters, Debra, P. C.1 aBlair, J.M.1 aChilders, Daniel, L.1 aDoran, Peter, T.1 aGeil, Kerrie1 aGooseff, Michael, N.1 aGross, Katherine, L.1 aHaddad, Nick, M.1 aPastore, Melissa, A.1 aRudgers, Jennifer, A.1 aSala, Osvaldo, E.1 aSeabloom, Eric, W.1 aShaver, Gaius uhttps://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biab134/665484002513nas a2200277 4500008004100000245010700041210006900148260001200217300001600229490000700245520169000252653001201942653001601954653001601970653001401986653001502000653001602015100002602031700002102057700002402078700001702102700001702119700002002136700002402156856005502180 2018 eng d00aSpatial and temporal patterns of microbial mats and associated invertebrates along an Antarctic stream0 aSpatial and temporal patterns of microbial mats and associated i c10/2018 a1911–19210 v413 a

 

Microbial biofilms are biological hotspots in many alpine and polar ecosystems, but the controls on and functional significance of their fauna are little known. We studied cyanobacterial mats and the underlying sediment in a glacial meltwater stream in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. We investigated mat biomass (total and phototrophic), diatoms, and micro-meiofauna (nematodes, rotifers, and tardigrades) at nine sites along a 1670 m stream reach in a cold, low-flow growing season, and in a warmer growing season in which peak flows (above 100 L s−1) scoured the mats. Diatom and invertebrate communities were not related, but mat biomass in the low-flow year was negatively related to nematode abundance, including that of the omnivore Eudorylaimus. In the high-flow year that followed, invertebrate abundance was reduced in the mats, diatom community structure was altered, and mat biomass was higher. The difference in invertebrate abundance between years was greater in mats in upstream reaches, where the greatest increases in flow velocity may have occurred, and was negligible in mats in downstream reaches as well as in the sediment beneath the mats. Integrating our results with previous findings, we generate two predictive hypotheses to be tested in glacial meltwater streams: (1) under peak flows invertebrates decline in the microbial mats, while (2) the sediment beneath the mats is a refuge from the flow disturbance. Our results also suggest that, under stable flow conditions, microinvertebrate grazers could exert top-down control on microbial mat biomass.

 

10adiatoms10aDisturbance10aDry valleys10aEpilithon10aMicrofauna10aStream flow1 aAndriuzzi, Walter, S.1 aStanish, Lee, F.1 aSimmons, Breana, L.1 aJaros, Chris1 aAdams, Byron1 aWall, Diana, H.1 aMcKnight, Diane, M. uhttp://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00300-018-2331-403401nas a2200241 4500008004100000245013400041210006900175260004000244300000800284490001000292520259800302653001002900653001502910653002402925653001902949653001602968653001902984653002403003653001903027100002203046700002403068856006703092 2015 eng d00aPhysical and chemical controls on the abundance and composition of stream microbial mats from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica0 aPhysical and chemical controls on the abundance and composition  aBoulder, CObUniversity of Colorado a2720 vPh.D.3 a

 

The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are a cold, dry desert, yet perennial microbial mats are abundant in the ephemeral glacial meltwater streams that flow during austral summers. Three types of mats are present (orange, black, and green), and are primarily comprised of filamentous cyanobacteria, Nostoc, and chlorophytes, respectively. Mat types furthermore occupy distinct habitats within streams, utilizing the benthos, hyporheic zone, and water column, which expose them to different environmental conditions. Due to a lack of lateral inflows, allochthonous organic inputs, and negligible grazing activity, these streams are ideal for the controlled ecological study of microbial mats. Here, I investigated how mats will respond to physical disturbance, alterations in the hydrologic regime, and nutrient liberation from permafrost melt in the future. Specifically, I: 1) quantified and characterized the regrowth of mat biomass, community structure, and elemental stoichiometry after a scouring disturbance, 2) investigated how geomorphology and taxonomic identity influences the response of mat biomass to hydrologic regime in transects monitored over two decades, and 3) evaluated relationships between water chemistry and the elemental and isotopic composition of mat types over longitudinal and valley-wide gradients in Taylor Valley. I found that mats recovered ~20-50% of their biomass over the course of an austral summer following scour. Algal communities were significantly different in composition between disturbed and control treatments, but all samples naturally varied in species and elemental stoichiometry over the study period. When the long- term record of mat biomass was compared with hydrologic variables, stream channel mats (orange and green) had the greatest correlations, while marginal mats (black) showed weaker relationships with flow regime. Relationships also differed as a function of stream geomorphology, indicating the importance of substrata and gradient in conjunction with discharge. Lastly, mats showed unique elemental and isotopic compositions. Green and orange mats within the stream channel most reflected water column nutrient concentrations, while black mats showed significant nitrogen fixation. These results highlight the importance of taxonomic identity and habitat to modeling primary production here and elsewhere, and provide insight to how stream microbial mat communities are formed, maintained, and ultimately persist in an isolated polar desert.

 

10aalgae10aAntarctica10abiological sciences10aclimate change10aDisturbance10aearth sciences10aMcMurdo Dry Valleys10amicrobial mats1 aKohler, Tyler, J.1 aMcKnight, Diane, M. uhttps://search.proquest.com/docview/1690497718?accountid=14503