Freshwater mineral nitrogen and essential elements in autotrophs in James Ross Island, West Antarctica

The lakes and watercourses are habitats for various communities of cyanobacteria and algae, which are among the few primary producers in Antarctica. The amount of nutrients in the mineral-poor Antarctic environment is a limiting factor for the growth of freshwater autotrophs in most cases. In this s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polish Polar Research
Main Authors: Coufalík, P. (Pavel), Procházková, P., Zvěřina, O., Trnková, K., Skácelová, K., Nývlt, D., Komárek, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
antarctica
cyanobacteria
algae
nutrients
Antarctic
Ross Island
Ulu Peninsula
West Antarctica
Antarc*
Antarctica
James Ross Island
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/popore-2016-0025
http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0263464
Description
Summary:The lakes and watercourses are habitats for various communities of cyanobacteria and algae, which are among the few primary producers in Antarctica. The amount of nutrients in the mineral-poor Antarctic environment is a limiting factor for the growth of freshwater autotrophs in most cases. In this study, the main aim was to assess the availability of mineral nitrogen for microorganisms in cyanobacterial mats in James Ross Island. The nitrate and ammonium ions in water environment were determined as well as the contents of major elements (C, N, P, S, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, Mn) in cyanobacterial mats. The molar ratios of C:N, C:P and N:P in mats were in focus. The growth of freshwater autotrophs seems not to be limited by the level of nitrogen, according to the content of available mineral nitrogen in water and the biogeochemical stoichiometry of C:N:P. The source of nutrients in the Ulu Peninsula is not obvious. The nitrogen fixation could enhance the nitrogen content in mats, which was observed in some samples containing the Nostoc sp.

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