Unique similarity of faunal communities across aquatic–terrestrial interfaces in a polar desert ecosystem
Critical transition zones, such as aquatic–terrestrial interfaces, have been recognized as important fea-tures in landscape ecology. Yet changes in the community structure of soil and sediment biota across aquatic–terrestrial boundaries remain rela-tively unstudied. We investigated the community str...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2007
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.662.9574 http://adamslab.byu.edu/Portals/74/docs/Papers/Ayres2007Ecosystems.pdf |
| Summary: | Critical transition zones, such as aquatic–terrestrial interfaces, have been recognized as important fea-tures in landscape ecology. Yet changes in the community structure of soil and sediment biota across aquatic–terrestrial boundaries remain rela-tively unstudied. We investigated the community structure of the dominant fauna, namely nema-todes, rotifers and tardigrades, across lake sedi-ment–soil transects in three basins in a species-poor, polar desert ecosystem (McMurdo Dry Val-leys, Antarctica). We also examined substrate (that is, soil and sediment) properties, including mois-ture, salinity, carbon, nitrogen and phosphate concentration, across these transects. Differences in |
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