Composition and succession of dinoflagellates and chrysophytes in the upper fast ice of Davis Station, East Antarctica

Little is known of the wider Antarctic distribution of the upper fast ice community now comprehensivelydescribed from McMurdo Sound. We determined the fast ice protist community at Davis Station, East Antarctica and compared it with that of McMurdo Sound. As at McMurdo Sound, Davis fast ice is chara...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Thompson, PG, McMinn, A, Kiesling, I, Watson, M, Goldsworthy, PM
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2006
Subjects:
Antarctic
East Antarctica
McMurdo Sound
Davis Station
Davis-Station
Antarc*
Antarctica
Polar Biology
Sea ice
Online Access:https://eprints.utas.edu.au/12253/
https://eprints.utas.edu.au/12253/1/Thomson06.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0060-y
Description
Summary:Little is known of the wider Antarctic distribution of the upper fast ice community now comprehensivelydescribed from McMurdo Sound. We determined the fast ice protist community at Davis Station, East Antarctica and compared it with that of McMurdo Sound. As at McMurdo Sound, Davis fast ice is characterised by extreme and transitory salinities (96–2.5 psu) and temperatures (4.5 to 0.1C) during the spring/summer transition. Both communities are dominated by Polarella glacialis (an autotrophic dinoflagellate), chrysophytes and their life cycle stages. Furthermore, the physical parameters of brine temperature and salinity at which these successions occurred approximated those of McMurdo Sound. The high degree of similarity between the communities from the geographically disparate locations indicates that this community type has a circum-Antarctic distribution. Confirming the areal extent and seasonality of this community type will assist in future predictions of sea ice productivity.

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