Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea
The aggregation of surface debris particles on melting glaciers into larger units (cryoconite) provides microenvironments for various microorganisms and metabolic processes. Here we investigate the microbial community on the surface of Aldegondabreen, a valley glacier in Svalbard which is supplied w...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe 2023-09-05T13:17:27+02:00 Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 https://doaj.org/article/63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe Environmental Research Letters, Vol 8, Iss 3, p 035044 (2013) glacier cryoconite microbial diversity nitrogen ammonia oxidation Svalbard Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 2023-08-13T00:37:34Z The aggregation of surface debris particles on melting glaciers into larger units (cryoconite) provides microenvironments for various microorganisms and metabolic processes. Here we investigate the microbial community on the surface of Aldegondabreen, a valley glacier in Svalbard which is supplied with carbon and nutrients from different sources across its surface, including colonies of seabirds. We used a combination of geochemical analysis (of surface debris, ice and meltwater), quantitative polymerase chain reactions (targeting the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid and amoA genes), pyrosequencing and multivariate statistical analysis to suggest possible factors driving the ecology of prokaryotic microbes on the surface of Aldegondabreen and their potential role in nitrogen cycling. The combination of high nutrient input with subsidy from the bird colonies, supraglacial meltwater flow and the presence of fine, clay-like particles supports the formation of centimetre-scale cryoconite aggregates in some areas of the glacier surface. We show that a diverse microbial community is present, dominated by the cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, that are well-known in supraglacial environments. Importantly, ammonia-oxidizing archaea were detected in the aggregates for the first time on an Arctic glacier. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic glacier Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Aldegondabreen ENVELOPE(14.074,14.074,77.978,77.978) Arctic Svalbard Environmental Research Letters 8 3 035044 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
glacier cryoconite microbial diversity nitrogen ammonia oxidation Svalbard Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
glacier cryoconite microbial diversity nitrogen ammonia oxidation Svalbard Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
topic_facet |
glacier cryoconite microbial diversity nitrogen ammonia oxidation Svalbard Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
The aggregation of surface debris particles on melting glaciers into larger units (cryoconite) provides microenvironments for various microorganisms and metabolic processes. Here we investigate the microbial community on the surface of Aldegondabreen, a valley glacier in Svalbard which is supplied with carbon and nutrients from different sources across its surface, including colonies of seabirds. We used a combination of geochemical analysis (of surface debris, ice and meltwater), quantitative polymerase chain reactions (targeting the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid and amoA genes), pyrosequencing and multivariate statistical analysis to suggest possible factors driving the ecology of prokaryotic microbes on the surface of Aldegondabreen and their potential role in nitrogen cycling. The combination of high nutrient input with subsidy from the bird colonies, supraglacial meltwater flow and the presence of fine, clay-like particles supports the formation of centimetre-scale cryoconite aggregates in some areas of the glacier surface. We show that a diverse microbial community is present, dominated by the cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, that are well-known in supraglacial environments. Importantly, ammonia-oxidizing archaea were detected in the aggregates for the first time on an Arctic glacier. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner |
author_facet |
Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner |
author_sort |
Jakub D Zarsky |
title |
Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
title_short |
Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
title_full |
Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
title_fullStr |
Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
title_sort |
large cryoconite aggregates on a svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 https://doaj.org/article/63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(14.074,14.074,77.978,77.978) |
geographic |
Aldegondabreen Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Aldegondabreen Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic glacier Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Svalbard |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 8, Iss 3, p 035044 (2013) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
035044 |
_version_ |
1776198628304486400 |