Distribution and abiotic influences on hypolithic microbial communities in an Antarctic Dry Valley

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Cowan, Don A., Pointing, Stephen B., Stevens, Mark I., Cary, S. Craig, Stomeo, Francesca, Tuffin, Marla I.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2010
• Subjects: Miers valley; Antarctica; cryptic microbial communities; hypolithons; microniches; Antarctic; McMurdo Dry Valleys; Miers; Miers Valley; Antarc*; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/4433; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0872-2

The Miers Valley within the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica supports abundant quartz and marble substrates for hypolithons—microbial colonists on the underside of these translucent rocks. Three physically distinct hypolithic community types have been identified: cyanobacteria dominated (Type I), f...