Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake
Lake Vanda is a perennially ice-covered, closed-basin lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Laminated photosynthetic microbial mats cover the floor of the lake from below the ice cover to >40 m depth. In recent decades, the water level of Lake Vanda has been rising, creating a “natural exp...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/biology2010151 https://doaj.org/article/09e002dbe60948f8a1762032803da37f |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:09e002dbe60948f8a1762032803da37f 2023-10-01T03:52:06+02:00 Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake Anne D. Jungblut Dale T. Andersen Dawn Y. Sumner Ian Hawes Tyler J. Mackey 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/biology2010151 https://doaj.org/article/09e002dbe60948f8a1762032803da37f EN eng MDPI AG http://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/2/1/151 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology2010151 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/09e002dbe60948f8a1762032803da37f Biology, Vol 2, Iss 1, Pp 151-176 (2013) cyanobacteria benthic communities microbial mat environmental change Antarctic lake Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/biology2010151 2023-09-03T00:45:41Z Lake Vanda is a perennially ice-covered, closed-basin lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Laminated photosynthetic microbial mats cover the floor of the lake from below the ice cover to >40 m depth. In recent decades, the water level of Lake Vanda has been rising, creating a “natural experiment” on development of mat communities on newly flooded substrates and the response of deeper mats to declining irradiance. Mats in recently flooded depths accumulate one lamina (~0.3 mm) per year and accrue ~0.18 µg chlorophyll-a cm−2 y−1. As they increase in thickness, vertical zonation becomes evident, with the upper 2-4 laminae forming an orange-brown zone, rich in myxoxanthophyll and dominated by intertwined Leptolyngbya trichomes. Below this, up to six phycobilin-rich green/pink-pigmented laminae form a subsurface zone, inhabited by Leptolyngbya, Oscillatoria and Phormidium morphotypes. Laminae continued to increase in thickness for several years after burial, and PAM fluorometry indicated photosynthetic potential in all pigmented laminae. At depths that have been submerged for >40 years, mats showed similar internal zonation and formed complex pinnacle structures that were only beginning to appear in shallower mats. Chlorophyll-a did not change over time and these mats appear to represent resource-limited “climax” communities. Acclimation of microbial mats to changing environmental conditions is a slow process, and our data show how legacy effects of past change persist into the modern community structure. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Basin Lake ENVELOPE(161.917,161.917,-76.150,-76.150) Lake Vanda ENVELOPE(161.600,161.600,-77.517,-77.517) McMurdo Dry Valleys Pinnacle ENVELOPE(-54.900,-54.900,-61.067,-61.067) Vanda ENVELOPE(161.550,161.550,-77.533,-77.533) Biology 2 1 151 176 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
cyanobacteria benthic communities microbial mat environmental change Antarctic lake Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
cyanobacteria benthic communities microbial mat environmental change Antarctic lake Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Anne D. Jungblut Dale T. Andersen Dawn Y. Sumner Ian Hawes Tyler J. Mackey Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake |
topic_facet |
cyanobacteria benthic communities microbial mat environmental change Antarctic lake Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Lake Vanda is a perennially ice-covered, closed-basin lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Laminated photosynthetic microbial mats cover the floor of the lake from below the ice cover to >40 m depth. In recent decades, the water level of Lake Vanda has been rising, creating a “natural experiment” on development of mat communities on newly flooded substrates and the response of deeper mats to declining irradiance. Mats in recently flooded depths accumulate one lamina (~0.3 mm) per year and accrue ~0.18 µg chlorophyll-a cm−2 y−1. As they increase in thickness, vertical zonation becomes evident, with the upper 2-4 laminae forming an orange-brown zone, rich in myxoxanthophyll and dominated by intertwined Leptolyngbya trichomes. Below this, up to six phycobilin-rich green/pink-pigmented laminae form a subsurface zone, inhabited by Leptolyngbya, Oscillatoria and Phormidium morphotypes. Laminae continued to increase in thickness for several years after burial, and PAM fluorometry indicated photosynthetic potential in all pigmented laminae. At depths that have been submerged for >40 years, mats showed similar internal zonation and formed complex pinnacle structures that were only beginning to appear in shallower mats. Chlorophyll-a did not change over time and these mats appear to represent resource-limited “climax” communities. Acclimation of microbial mats to changing environmental conditions is a slow process, and our data show how legacy effects of past change persist into the modern community structure. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Anne D. Jungblut Dale T. Andersen Dawn Y. Sumner Ian Hawes Tyler J. Mackey |
author_facet |
Anne D. Jungblut Dale T. Andersen Dawn Y. Sumner Ian Hawes Tyler J. Mackey |
author_sort |
Anne D. Jungblut |
title |
Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake |
title_short |
Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake |
title_full |
Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake |
title_fullStr |
Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake |
title_full_unstemmed |
Timescales of Growth Response of Microbial Mats to Environmental Change in an Ice-Covered Antarctic Lake |
title_sort |
timescales of growth response of microbial mats to environmental change in an ice-covered antarctic lake |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology2010151 https://doaj.org/article/09e002dbe60948f8a1762032803da37f |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(161.917,161.917,-76.150,-76.150) ENVELOPE(161.600,161.600,-77.517,-77.517) ENVELOPE(-54.900,-54.900,-61.067,-61.067) ENVELOPE(161.550,161.550,-77.533,-77.533) |
geographic |
Antarctic Basin Lake Lake Vanda McMurdo Dry Valleys Pinnacle Vanda |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Basin Lake Lake Vanda McMurdo Dry Valleys Pinnacle Vanda |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys |
op_source |
Biology, Vol 2, Iss 1, Pp 151-176 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/2/1/151 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology2010151 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/09e002dbe60948f8a1762032803da37f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology2010151 |
container_title |
Biology |
container_volume |
2 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
151 |
op_container_end_page |
176 |
_version_ |
1778517673416589312 |