Antarctica; conductivity; cyanobacteria; diatom; microbial mat
Abstract :
[en] 1. Lakes and ponds in the Larsemann Hills and Bolingen Islands (East-Antarctica) were characterised by cyanobacteria-dominated, benthic microbial mats. A 56-lake dataset representing the limnological diversity among the more than 150 lakes and ponds in the region was developed to identify and quantify the abiotic conditions associated with cyanobacterial and diatom communities. 2. Limnological diversity in the lakes of the Larsemann Hills and Bolingen Islands was associated primarily with conductivity and conductivity-related variables (concentrations of major ions and alkalinity), and variation in lake morphometry (depth, catchment and lake area). Low concentrations of pigments, phosphate, nitrogen, DOC and TOC in the water column of most lakes suggest extremely low water column productivity and hence high water clarity, and may thus contribute to the ecological success of benthic microbial mats in this region. 3. Benthic communities consisted of prostrate and sometimes finely laminated mats, flake mats, epilithic and interstitial microbial mats. Mat physiognomy and carotenoid/chlorophyll ratios were strongly related to lake depth, but not to conductivity. 4. Morphological-taxonomic analyses revealed the presence of 26 diatom morphospecies and 33 cyanobacterial morphotypes. Mats of shallow lakes (interstitial and flake mats) and those of deeper lakes (prostrate mats) were characterised by different dominant cyanobacterial morphotypes. No relationship was found between the distribution of these morphotypes and conductivity. In contrast, variation in diatom species composition was strongly related to both lake depth and conductivity. Shallow ponds were mainly characterised by aerial diatoms (e.g. Diadesmis cf. perpusilla and Hantzschia spp.). In deep lakes, communities were dominated by Psammothidium abundans and Stauroforma inermis. Lakes with conductivities higher than +/-1.5 mS cm(-1) became susceptible to freezing out of salts and hence pronounced conductivity fluctuations. In these lakes P. abundans and S. inermis were replaced by Amphora veneta. Stomatocysts were important only in shallow freshwater lakes. 5. Ice cover influenced microbial mat structure and composition both directly by physical disturbance in shallow lakes and by influencing light availability in deeper lakes, as well as indirectly by generating conductivity increases and promoting the development of seasonal anoxia. 6. The relationships between diatom species composition and conductivity, and diatom species composition and depth, were statistically significant. Transfer functions based on these data can therefore be used in paleolimnological reconstruction to infer changes in the precipitation-evaporation balance in continental Antarctic lakes.
Adamson D.A. & Pickard J. (1986) Cainozoic history of the Vestfold Hills. In: Antarctic Oases: Terrestrial Environments and History of the Vestfold Hills (Ed. J. Pickard), pp. 63-93. Academic Press, Sydney, Australia.
Beyens L., Chardez D., Debaere D. & Verbruggen C. (1995) The aquatic testate amoebas fauna of the Stromness Bay area, South Georgia. Antarctic Science, 7, 3-8.
Bowman J.P., McCammon S.A., Rea S.M. & McMeekin T.A. (2000) The microbial composition of three limnologically disparate hypersaline Antarctic lakes. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 183, 81-88.
ter Braak C.J.F. & Smilauer P. (1998) CANOCO Reference Manual and User's Guide to Canoco for Windows: Software for Canonical Ordination (version 4). Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY.
Broady P.A. (1996) Diversity, distribution and dispersal of Antarctic terrestrial algae. Biodiversity and Conservation, 5, 1307-1335.
Broady P.A. & Weinstein R.N. (1998) Algae, lichens and Fungi in La Gorce Mountains, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 10, 376-385.
Clesceri L.S., Greenberg A. & Eaton A.D. (1999) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC.
Curtis P.J. & Adams H.E. (1995) Dissolved organic matter quantity and quality from freshwater and saltwater lakes in East-Central Alberta. Biogeochemistry, 30, 59-76.
Davies S.J., Metcalfe S.E., Caballero M.E. & Juggins S. (2002) Developing diatom-based transfer functions for Central Mexican lakes. Hydrobiologia, 467, 199-213.
Douglas M.S.V. & Smol J.P. (1995) Paleolimnological significance of observed distribution patterns of Chrysophyte cysts in Arctic pond environments. Journal of Paleolimnology, 13, 79-83.
Duff K.E., Zeeb B.A. & Smol J.P. (1997) Chrysophyte cyst biogeographical and ecological distributions: a synthesis. Journal of Biogeography, 24, 791-812.
Ehling-Schulz M. & Scherer S. (1999) UV protection in cyanobacteria. European Journal of Phycology, 34, 329-338.
Ellis-Evans J.C. (1996) Microbial diversity and function in Antarctic freshwater ecosystems. Biodiversity and Conservation, 5, 1395-1431.
Ellis-Evans J.C., Laybourn-Parry J., Bayliss P.R. & Perriss S.J. (1998) Physical, chemical and microbial community characteristics of lakes of the Larsemann Hills, Continental Antarctica. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 141, 209-230.
Eriksen R. (1997) A Practical Manual for the Determination of Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, and Nutrients in Seawater. Antarctic Co-operative Research Centre Report No. 11, Hobart, Australia.
Fumanti B., Cavacini P. & Alfinito S. (1997). Benthic algal mats of some lakes of Inexpressible Island (Northern Victoria Land, Antartica). Polar Biology, 17, 25-30.
Garcia-Pichel F., Prufert-Bebout L. & Muyzer G. (1996) Phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses show Microcoleus chthonoplastes to be a cosmopolitan cyanobacterium. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 62, 3284-3291.
Gibson J.A.E. (1999) The meromictic lakes and stratified marine basins of the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 11, 175-192.
Gillieson D., Burgess J., Spate A., & Cochrane A. (1990) An Atlas of the lakes of the Larsemann Hills, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica. ANARE Research Notes no. 74. The Publications Office, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia.
Hall R.I. & Smol J.P. (1992) A weighted averaging regression and calibration model for inferring total phosphorus concentration from diatoms in British Columbia (Canada) lakes. Freshwater Biology, 27, 417-434.
Hamilton P.B. & Edlund S.A. (1994) Occurrence of Prasiola fluviatilis (Chlorophyta) on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. Journal of Phycology, 30, 217-221.
Hawes I. & Schwarz A.M. (1999) Photosynthesis in an extreme shade environment: benthic microbial mats from Lake Hoare, a permanently ice-covered Antarctic Lake. Journal of Phycology, 35, 448-459.
Hawes I., Howard-Williams C. & Pridmore R.D. (1993) Environmental-control of microbial biomass in the ponds of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 127, 271-287.
Hawes I., Smith R., Howard-Williams C. & Schwarz A.M. (1999) Environmental conditions during freezing, and response of microbial mats in ponds of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 11, 198-208.
Hodgson D.A., Wright S.W. & Davies N. (1997) Mass spectrometry and reverse phase HPLC techniques for the identification of degraded fossil pigments in lake sediments and their application in palaeolimnology. Journal of Paleolimnology, 18, 335-350.
Hodgson D.A., Noon P.E., Vyverman W. et al. (2001a) Were the Larsemann Hills ice-free through the last glacial maximum? Antarctic Science, 13, 440-454.
Hodgson D.A., Vyverman W. & Sabbe K. (2001b) Limnology and biology of saline lakes in the Rauer Islands, Eastern Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 13, 255-270.
James M.R., Pridmore R.D. & Cummings V.J. (1995) Planktonic communities of melt ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 15, 555-567.
Jeffrey S.W., Mantoura R.F.C. & Wright S.W. (1997) Phytoplankton Pigments in Oceanography, Guidelines to Modern Methods. UNESCO, Paris.
Jones V.J. (1996) The diversity, distribution and ecology of diatoms from Antarctic inland waters. Biodiversity and Conservation, 5, 1433-1449.
Jones V.J. & Juggins S. (1995) The construction of a diatom-based Chlorophyll a transfer function and its application at three lakes on Signy Island (Maritime Antarctica) subject to differing degrees of nutrient enrichment. Freshwater Biology, 34, 433-445.
Jones V.J., Juggins S. & Ellis-Evans J.C. (1993) The relationship between water chemistry and surface sediment diatom assemblages in maritime Antarctic lakes. Antarctic Science, 5, 339-348.
Karsten U. (1996) Growth and organic osmolytes of geographically different isolates of Microcoleus chthonoplastes (cyanobacteria) from benthic microbial mats: response to salinity change. Journal of Phycology, 32, 501-506.
Kawecka B. & Olech M. (1993) Diatom communities in the Vanishing and Ornithologists Creek, King George Island, South Shetlands, Antarctica. Hydrobiologia, 269/ 270, 327-333.
Komárek J. (1999) Diversity of cyanoprokaryotes (cyanobacteria) of King George Island, maritime Antarctica - a survey. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, 94, 181-193.
Labrenz M. & Hirsch P. (2001) Physiological diversity and adaptations of aerobic heterotrophic Bacteria from different depths of hypersaline, heliothermal and meromictic Ekho Lake (East Antarctica). Polar Biology, 24, 320-327.
Laybourn-Parry J. (2002a) Survival mechanisms in Antarctic lakes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 357, 863-869.
Laybourn-Parry J., Hofer J.S. & Sommaruga R. (2001) Viruses in the plankton of freshwater and saline Antarctic lakes. Freshwater Biology, 46, 1279-1287.
Laybourn-Parry J., Quayle W. & Henshaw T. (2002b) The biology and evolution of Antarctic Saline Lakes in relation to salinity and trophy. Polar Biology, 25, 542-552.
Leavitt P.R. & Hodgson D.A. (2001) Sedimentary pigments. In: Developments in Palaeoenvironmental Research, Vol. 3. Tracking Environmental Changes Using Lake Sediments: Terrestrial, Algal and Siliceous Indicators (Eds J.P. Smol, H.J.B. Birks & W.M. Last), pp. 295-325. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Leavitt P.R., Hodgson D.A. & R. Pienitz (2003) Past UV radiation environments and impacts on lakes. In: UV Effects in Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems (Eds E.W. Helbling & H. Zagarese), pp. 509-545. Comprehensive Series in Photosciences 2, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, U.K.
Mataloni G., Tell G. & Wynn-Williams D.D. (2000) Structure and diversity of soil algal communities from Cierva Point (Antarctic Peninsula). Polar Biology, 23, 205-211.
Mrozinska T., Olech M. & Massalski A. (1998) Algae on ponds and streams on moraines on Ecology Glacier (King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Nova Hedwigia, 67, 169-188.
Nadeau T.L. & Castenholz R.W. (2000) Characterization of psychrophilic oscillatorians (Cyanobacteria) from Antarctic meltwater ponds. Journal of Phycology, 36, 914-923.
Nübel U., Garcia-Pichel F., Kühl M. & Muyzer G. (1999) Quantifying microbial diversity: morphotypes, 16S rRNA genes, and carotenoids of oxygenic phototrophs in microbial mats. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 65, 422-430.
Oppenheim D.R. (1990) A prelimnary study of benthic diatoms in contrasting lake environments. In: Antarctic Ecosystems: Ecological Change and Conservation (Eds K.R. Kerry & G. Hempel), pp. 91-99. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Proteau P.J., Gerwick W.H., Garcia-Pichel F. & Castenholz R. (1993) The structure of scytonemin, an ultraviolet sunscreen pigment from the sheaths of cyanobacteria. Experientia, 49, 825-829.
Roberts D. & McMinn A. (1996) Relationships between surface sediment diatom assemblages and water chemistry gradients in saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 8, 331-341.
Roberts D. & McMinn A. (1998) A weighted-averaging regression and calibration model for inferring lake water salinity from fossil diatom assemblages in saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, a new tool for interpreting Holocene lake histories in Antarctica. Journal of Paleolimnology, 19, 99-113.
Roberts D. & McMinn A. (1999) Diatoms of the saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Bibliotheca Diatomologica, 44, 1-83.
Roberts D., McMinn A. & Zwartz D. (2000) An initial palaeosalinity history of Jaw Lake, Bunger Hills based on a diatom-salinity transfer function applied to sediment cores. Antarctic Science, 12, 172-176.
Roberts D., McMinn A., Johnston N., Gore D.B., Melles M. & Cremer H. (2001a) An analysis of the limnology and sedimentary diatom flora of fourteen lakes and ponds from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 13, 410-419.
Roberts D., Van Ommen T.D., McMinn A., Morgan V. & Roberts J.L. (2001b) Late-Holocene East Antarctic climate trends from ice-core and lake-sediment proxies. Holocene, 11, 117-120.
Roos J.C. & Vincent W.F. (1998) Temperature dependence of UV radiation effects on Antarctic cyanobacteria. Journal of Phycology, 34, 118-125.
Sabbe K., Verleyen E., Hodgson D.A., Vanhoutte K. & Vyverman W. (2003) Benthic diatom flora of freshwater and saline lakes in the Larsemann Hills and Rauer Islands (E-Antarctica). Antarctic Science, 15, 227-248.
Schmidt S., Moskal W., Demora S.J., Howard-Williams C. & Vincent W.F. (1991) Limnological properties of Antarctic ponds during winter freezing. Antarctic Science, 3, 379-388.
Simmons G.M., Vestal J.R. & Wharton R.A. (1993) Environmental regulators of microbial activity in continental Antarctic lakes. In: Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Antarctic Lakes (Eds W.J. Green & E.I. Friedmann), pp. 197-214. Antarctic Research Series, Vol. 59, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.
Squier A.H., Hodgson D.A. & Keely B.J. (2002) Sedimentary pigments as markers for environmental change in an Antarctic lake. Organic Geochemistry, 33, 1655-1665.
Squyres S.W., Andersen D.W., Nedell S.S. & Wharton R.A. (1991) Lake Hoare, Antarctica - sedimentation through a thick perennial ice cover. Sedimentology, 38, 363-379.
Stal L.J. & Krumbein W.E. (1985) Isolation and characterization of cyanobacteria from a marine microbial mat. Botanica Marina, 28, 351-365.
Stoecker D.K., Gustafson D.E., Merrell J.R., Black M.M.D. & Baier C.T. (1997) Excystment and growth of chrysophytes and dinoflagellates at low temperatures and high salinities in Antarctic sea-ice. Journal of Phycology, 33, 585-595.
Sylvestre F., Servant-Vildary S. & Roux M. (2001) Diatom-based ionic concentration and salinity models from the South Bolivian Altiplano (15-23 degrees S). Journal of Paleolimnology, 25, 279-295.
Tang E.P.Y., Tremblay R. & Vincent W.F. (1997) Cyanobacterial dominance of polar freshwater ecosystems: are high-latitude mat-formers adapted to low temperature? Journal of Phycology, 33, 171-181.
Van de Vijver B. & Beyens L. (1999) Biogeography and ecology of freshwater diatoms in Sub Antarctica: a review. Journal of Biogeography, 26, 993-1000.
Van de Vijver B. & Beyens L. (2000) Chrysophycean stomatocysts from freshwater habitats of the Stromness Bay Area, South Georgia, Antarctica. Canadian Journal of Botany, 78, 88-97.
Verleyen E., Hodgson D.A., Vyverman W., Roberts D., McMinn A., Vanhoutte K. & Sabbe K. (2003) Modelling diatom responses to climate induced fluctuations in the moisture balance in continental Antarctic lakes. Journal of Paleolimnology, 30, 195-215.
Verleyen E., Hodgson D.A., Sabbe K., Vanhoutte K. & Vyverman W. (2004) Coastal oceanographic conditions in the Prydz Bay region (East Antarctica) during the Holocene recorded in an isolation basin. The Holocene, 14, 246-257.
Vezina S. & Vincent W.F. (1997) Arctic cyanobacteria and limnological properties of their environment: Bylot Island, Northwest Territories, Canada (73 degrees N, 80 degrees W). Polar Biology, 17, 523-534.
Vincent W.F. (2000) Cyanobacterial dominance in the Polar regions. In: The Ecology of Cyanobacteria: Their Diversity in Time and Space (Eds B.A. Whitton & M. Potts), pp. 321-340. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Vincent W.F. & James M.R. (1996) Biodiversity in extreme aquatic environments: lakes, ponds and streams of the Ross Sea Sector, Antarctica. Biodiversity and Conservation, 5, 1451-1471.
Vincent W.F. & Quesada A. (1994) Ultraviolet radiation effects on cyanobacteria: implications for Antarctic microbial ecosystems. Antarctic Research Series, 62, 111-124.
Vincent W.F., Downes M.T., Castenholz R.W. & Howard-Williams C. (1993) Community structure and pigment organization of cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mats in Antarctica. European Journal of Phycology, 28, 213-221.
Vinocur A. & Pizarro H. (2000) Microbial mats of twenty-six lakes from Potter Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica. Hydrobiologia, 437, 171-185.
Wharton R.A., Parker B.C. & Simmons G.M. (1983) Distribution, species composition and morphology of algal mats in Antarctic Dry Valley lakes. Phycologia, 22, 355-365.
Wilkinson A.N., Zeeb B.A., Smol J.P. & Douglas M.S.V. (1997) Chrysophyte stomatocyst assemblages associated with periphytic, high Arctic pond environments. Nordic Journal of Botany, 17, 95-112.
Wright S.W., Jeffrey S.W., Mantoura R.F.C., Llewellyn C.A., Bjørnland T., Repeta D. & Welschmeyer N. (1991) Improved HPLC method for the analysis of chlorophylls and carotenoids from marine phytoplankton. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 77, 183-196.
