An Update on Sedimentary Pigments in Victoria Land Lakes (East Antarctica)

Antarctic ice-free areas contain lakes and ponds that have interesting limnological features and are of wide global significance as early warning indicators of climatic and environmental change. However, most linmological and paleolimnological studies in continental Antarctica are limited to certain...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research
Main Authors: Borghini, Francesca, Colacevich, Andrea, Caruso, Tancredi, Bargagli, Roberto
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2011
Subjects:
FRESH-WATER
AMINO-ACIDS
VALLEY
ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE
DIVERSITY
GRADIENT
GEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
COMMUNITIES
RADIATION
ALGAL MATS
Antarctic
East Antarctica
Victoria Land
Antarc*
Antarctic and Alpine Research
Antarctica
Arctic
Online Access:https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/c69733fb-4e20-42c3-b083-9cad2d48562d
https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-43.1.22
Description
Summary:Antarctic ice-free areas contain lakes and ponds that have interesting limnological features and are of wide global significance as early warning indicators of climatic and environmental change. However, most linmological and paleolimnological studies in continental Antarctica are limited to certain regions. There are several ice-free areas in Victoria Land that have not yet been studied well. There is therefore a need to extend limnological studies in space and time to understand how different geological and climatic features affect the composition and biological activity of freshwater communities. With the aim of contributing to a better limnological characterization of Victoria Land, this paper reports data on sedimentary pigments (used to identify the main algal taxa) obtained through a methodology that is more sensitive and selective than that of previous studies. Analyses were extended to 48 water bodies in ice-free areas with differing lithology, latitude, and altitude, and with different morphometry and physical, chemical, and biological characteristics in order to identify environmental factors affecting the distribution and composition of freshwater autotrophic communities. A wider knowledge of lakes in a limnologically important region of Antarctica was obtained. Cyanophyta was found to be the most important algal group, followed by Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta, whereas latitude and altitude are the main factors affecting pigment distribution.

Similar Items