Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
Climate change is driving dramatic variability in sea ice dynamics, a key driver in polar marine ecosystems. Projected changes in Antarctica suggest that regional warming will force dramatic shifts in sea ice thickness and persistence, altering sea ice-associated primary production and deposition to...
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2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 https://doaj.org/article/26a3d55668aa40999a428d22bccdebdd |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:26a3d55668aa40999a428d22bccdebdd 2023-05-15T13:53:16+02:00 Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica Ashleigh A. Currie Alexis J. Marshall Andrew M. Lohrer Vonda J. Cummings Sarah Seabrook S. Craig Cary 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 https://doaj.org/article/26a3d55668aa40999a428d22bccdebdd EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-302X 1664-302X doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 https://doaj.org/article/26a3d55668aa40999a428d22bccdebdd Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol 12 (2021) sediment benthic microbial community climate change sea ice Microbiology QR1-502 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 2022-12-31T07:40:39Z Climate change is driving dramatic variability in sea ice dynamics, a key driver in polar marine ecosystems. Projected changes in Antarctica suggest that regional warming will force dramatic shifts in sea ice thickness and persistence, altering sea ice-associated primary production and deposition to the seafloor. To improve our understanding of the impacts of sea ice change on benthic ecosystems, we directly compared the benthic microbial communities underlying first-year sea ice (FYI) and multi-year sea ice (MYI). Using two tractable coastal habitats in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, where FYI (Cape Evans) and MYI (New Harbour) prevail, we show that the structure and composition of the benthic microbial communities reflect the legacy of sea ice dynamics. At Cape Evans, an enrichment of known heterotrophic algal polysaccharide degrading taxa (e.g., Flavobacteriaceae, unclassified Gammaproteobacteria, and Rubritaleaceae) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g., Desulfocapsaceae) correlated with comparatively higher chlorophyll a (14.2±0.8μgg−1) and total organic carbon content (0.33%±0.04), reflecting increased productivity and seafloor deposition beneath FYI. Conversely, at New Harbour, an enrichment of known archaeal (e.g., Nitrosopumilaceae) and bacterial (e.g., Woeseiaceae and Nitrospiraceae) chemoautotrophs was common in sediments with considerably lower chlorophyll a (1.0±0.24μgg−1) and total organic carbon content (0.17%±0.01), reflecting restricted productivity beneath MYI. We also report evidence of a submarine discharge of sub-permafrost brine from Taylor Valley into New Harbour. By comparing our two study sites, we show that under current climate-warming scenarios, changes to sea ice productivity and seafloor deposition are likely to initiate major shifts in benthic microbial communities, with heterotrophic organic matter degradation processes becoming increasingly important. This study provides the first assessment of how legacy sea ice conditions influence benthic microbial communities in Antarctica, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice McMurdo Sound permafrost Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Cape Evans ENVELOPE(161.550,161.550,-75.100,-75.100) McMurdo Sound New Harbour ENVELOPE(163.850,163.850,-77.600,-77.600) Taylor Valley ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) Frontiers in Microbiology 12 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
sediment benthic microbial community climate change sea ice Microbiology QR1-502 |
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sediment benthic microbial community climate change sea ice Microbiology QR1-502 Ashleigh A. Currie Alexis J. Marshall Andrew M. Lohrer Vonda J. Cummings Sarah Seabrook S. Craig Cary Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
sediment benthic microbial community climate change sea ice Microbiology QR1-502 |
description |
Climate change is driving dramatic variability in sea ice dynamics, a key driver in polar marine ecosystems. Projected changes in Antarctica suggest that regional warming will force dramatic shifts in sea ice thickness and persistence, altering sea ice-associated primary production and deposition to the seafloor. To improve our understanding of the impacts of sea ice change on benthic ecosystems, we directly compared the benthic microbial communities underlying first-year sea ice (FYI) and multi-year sea ice (MYI). Using two tractable coastal habitats in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, where FYI (Cape Evans) and MYI (New Harbour) prevail, we show that the structure and composition of the benthic microbial communities reflect the legacy of sea ice dynamics. At Cape Evans, an enrichment of known heterotrophic algal polysaccharide degrading taxa (e.g., Flavobacteriaceae, unclassified Gammaproteobacteria, and Rubritaleaceae) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g., Desulfocapsaceae) correlated with comparatively higher chlorophyll a (14.2±0.8μgg−1) and total organic carbon content (0.33%±0.04), reflecting increased productivity and seafloor deposition beneath FYI. Conversely, at New Harbour, an enrichment of known archaeal (e.g., Nitrosopumilaceae) and bacterial (e.g., Woeseiaceae and Nitrospiraceae) chemoautotrophs was common in sediments with considerably lower chlorophyll a (1.0±0.24μgg−1) and total organic carbon content (0.17%±0.01), reflecting restricted productivity beneath MYI. We also report evidence of a submarine discharge of sub-permafrost brine from Taylor Valley into New Harbour. By comparing our two study sites, we show that under current climate-warming scenarios, changes to sea ice productivity and seafloor deposition are likely to initiate major shifts in benthic microbial communities, with heterotrophic organic matter degradation processes becoming increasingly important. This study provides the first assessment of how legacy sea ice conditions influence benthic microbial communities in Antarctica, ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ashleigh A. Currie Alexis J. Marshall Andrew M. Lohrer Vonda J. Cummings Sarah Seabrook S. Craig Cary |
author_facet |
Ashleigh A. Currie Alexis J. Marshall Andrew M. Lohrer Vonda J. Cummings Sarah Seabrook S. Craig Cary |
author_sort |
Ashleigh A. Currie |
title |
Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
title_short |
Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
title_full |
Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sea Ice Dynamics Drive Benthic Microbial Communities in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica |
title_sort |
sea ice dynamics drive benthic microbial communities in mcmurdo sound, antarctica |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 https://doaj.org/article/26a3d55668aa40999a428d22bccdebdd |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(161.550,161.550,-75.100,-75.100) ENVELOPE(163.850,163.850,-77.600,-77.600) ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) |
geographic |
Cape Evans McMurdo Sound New Harbour Taylor Valley |
geographic_facet |
Cape Evans McMurdo Sound New Harbour Taylor Valley |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice McMurdo Sound permafrost Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice McMurdo Sound permafrost Sea ice |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol 12 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-302X 1664-302X doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 https://doaj.org/article/26a3d55668aa40999a428d22bccdebdd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.745915 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
12 |
_version_ |
1766258304609157120 |