A limnological reconnaissance of Lake Tebenquiche, Salar de Atacama, Chile

Zúñiga, Luis Rodríguez; Campos, Victoriano; Pinochet, Hugo; Prado, Bernardo

doi:10.1007/bf00014320

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Highly saline wetlands in the Altiplano are inhabited by only few higher organisms such as brine shrimps, crustacean and insects, some lakes support zooplankton communities (e.g. amphipod, copepods, chironomid, ostracod, cladoceran, leech, rotifer, nematode and trichopteran) and surrounding macrophytes (Zúñiga et al 1991, Scott et al 2015. The dominant phototrophs are halophilic and halotolerant algae and cyanobacteria as well as anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (Demergasso et al 2008;Dorador et al 2008;Thiel et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extremophiles: photosynthetic systems in a high-altitude saline basin (Altiplano, Chile)

2016

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Studies of different hypersaline systems have revealed various types of limitation. We evaluated the phototrophic microbial assemblages over a whole seasonal cycle (wet vs dry) in the Salar de Alconcha, a high-altitude (4250 m altitude) saline basin. Phototrophic microbial communities were obtained from contrasting ecotypes, and examined for the effects of proximity and salinity variations. We also analyzed pigment profiles pointing to photosynthetic activity. While taxonomic diversity was limited to three algal groups (chlorophytes, diatoms, and cyanobacteria) ecological preferences were highly variable. Physical limitations when the photosynthetic system turn drier (maintaining viability and stability) appear to be the most successful adaptation (constrained assemblages) to the extreme condition in the Altiplano. This suggests that phototrophic microorganisms rarely achieve optimal growth, and could only do so when rain events reduce salinity (e.g. austral summer). However, environmental condition over the salt crust (total salt concentration: 119.74 g l -1 ) was an important driver to algal biomass. Overall, dominated by Dunaliella salina (&18,000 cell ml -1 ) turning the water into a red-orange colored system (b-carotene); aplanospore cysts were observed only during the driest season (austral winter). Our results suggest specific restrictive environments (e.g. environmental dissimilarity in the physical landscape) for phototrophic microbial colonization in highaltitude saline systems quite dependent upon water availability (system on the edge). The present study is a contribution for a better understanding of both the ecology of extreme environments and polyextremophiles communities (phototrophs) that inhabit them. Active salars are considered to be useful analogs of ancient photosynthetic systems, currently very pressured by groundwater extraction. Thus, altering the volume of water through the basin would have negative consequences on the structure and dynamics of local communities, and also in the stability of ecosystem functions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extremophiles: photosynthetic systems in a high-altitude saline basin (Altiplano, Chile)

2016

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“…Northern Chile is markedly arid, experiencing weak rains during the "Bolivian winter" of January and February. The ponds of the mountain and plains are all associated with saline deposits of volcanic origin (Chong, 1984) and brines of these saline lakes have relatively high sulphate concentrations (Zúñiga et al, 1991(Zúñiga et al, , 1999Gajardo et al, 1992, Table 3). The salinities of these ponds vary widely.…”

Section: Ecological Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Predation by adult B. poopoensis on Artemia nauplii is probably the main factor reducing the abundance of the brine shrimps with salinity concentrations <90 g L -1 (Hurlbert et al, 1986;Hammer & Hurlbert, 1992). Where Artemia do occur abundantly, the crustacean would play a key ecological role as the main grazer, through non selective filter feeding on the producer organisms (which includes halobacteria, cyanobacteria, diatoms and halophilic microalgae such as Dunaliella salina (Zúñiga et al, 1991Demergasso et al, 2003). These upland Artemia habitats are sites for feeding and nesting of aquatic birds such as Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis), Andean flamingo (Phoeni-coparrus andinus), James flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi) and Wilson Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor).…”

Section: Ecological Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the New World, the genus is represented by the species Artemia franciscana Kellog, 1906, and A. persimilis Piccinelli & Prosdocimi, 1968(Amat et al, 1994a, 1994bTriantaphyllidis et al, 1998). The first descriptions of Chilean brine shrimp were published in the early 1990s (Zúñiga et al, 1991Gajardo et al, 1992Gajardo et al, , 1995Gajardo & Beardmore, 1993;Wilson et al, 1993;Amat et al, 1994b). Prior to 1996, A. franciscana was reported from inland and coastal shallow ponds and one saltwork (Amat et al, 1994b, Table 1 and Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Artemia (Crustacea, Anostraca) in Chile: a review of basic and applied biology

Ríos-Escalante¹,

Salgado²

2012

lajar

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ABSTRACT. The brine shrimp Artemia in Chile has been studied since the 1980s, initially on populations inhabiting shallow coastal and inland mountain ponds, and saltworks in northern and central Chile. Based on morphometric and molecular evidence, these populations were identified as A. franciscana. In the 1990s, A. persimilis was recorded from southern Patagonia, a species previously considered endemic to Argentina. Recently, two new populations of A. franciscana have been recorded, from one saline coastal pond in northern Chile and from a saltwork in central Chile. The scope for further research to increase both understanding of the strain characterization and basic population ecology descriptions of the Chilean brine shrimps and improve their conservation status is discussed. It is suggested that future studies should investigate first the management of local brine shrimp population for local aquaculture or conservation resources, other direction would be the effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposition that is notoriously high in brine shrimp habitats. This last factor is very important because the UVR is an important mutagen on the genetic structure of the populations. In this scenario, it is suggest a carefully management for introduced brine shrimp populations for local aquaculture for avoid alterations in native populations that due their genetic isolation would need conservation procedures for avoid local extinctions. Keywords: Artemia, saline lakes, ultraviolet radiation, aquaculture, Chile.Artemia (Crustacea, Anostraca) en Chile: revisión de la biología básica y aplicada RESUMEN. El camarón de salmuera o Artemia ha sido estudiado en Chile desde la década de 1980, las primeras descripciones de poblaciones fueron para lagunas someras en zonas costeras y de montaña, y en salinas artificiales en la zona central y norte de Chile. Sobre la base de evidencias morfométricas y moleculares estas poblaciones fueron descritas como A. franciscana. En la década de 1990, se describió la presencia de A. persimilis en la zona sur de la Patagonia, lo cual fue una ampliación del rango de distribución significativa, pues esta especie se le consideró endémica de Argentina. Recientemente dos nuevas poblaciones de A. franciscana fueron reportadas en una laguna somera en el norte y para una salina artificial en la zona central. El objetivo del presente estudio fue realizar una investigación para entender la caracterización de poblaciones y ecología básica de las poblaciones chilenas del camarón de salmuera y discutir como mejorar el estado de la conservación de estas. Se discute que a futuro los estudios se deberían enfocar primero al manejo de poblaciones nativas para acuicultura local o como un recurso para su conservación, otras orientaciones de estudio, podrían ser los efectos de la radiación ultravioleta (UVR) que es notoriamente alta en los hábitats del camarón de salmuera. Este último factor es importante porque la radiación ultravioleta es un agente mutágeno importante en la estructura genética de las poblacione...

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“…These VCLs spread out in the desert, sustaining rich terrestrial (Rundel et al 2003) and aquatic ecosystems (Hulbert and Keith 1979;Zuñ iga et al 1991), which have been focus of different biochemical (Messerli et al 1997;Risacher et al 2003;Kampf et al 2005) and hydrological studies (Williams et al 1995;Jerez 2000;Demergasso et al 2003). Particular attention has been given to altiplanic flamingos, represented by three species: Phoenicopterus chilensis, Phoenicopterus andinus, and Phoenicopterus jamesi, with populations that reach thousands of birds per salar (Hulbert and Keith 1979).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and spatial features of the thermohydrodynamics of shallow salty lagoons in northern Chile

Fuente

Ninóo

2009

Limnology & Oceanography

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Salares in the altiplanic region of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina sustain important ecosystems in small, shallow wetlands, with inflows provided by groundwater and outflows consisting mainly of evaporation. The temporal and spatial thermohydrodynamics of one of these extremely shallow, saline, endorheic wetlands in northern Chile is analyzed on the basis of field observations of water temperature and salinity, and low-dimensionality models accounting for conservation of heat, mass, and volume. Temperature in the studied system is spatially homogeneous but with strong daily oscillations. Salinity, on the other hand, exhibits longitudinal gradients from the zone of (salty) groundwater upwelling to the final evaporation lagoon. Heat balance in the system is largely controlled by wind, as the evaporative heat flux balances out the net solar radiation. Heat exchange with the bottom sediments damps the daily temperature oscillations by retaining (releasing) heat from (to) the water column. Simulated longitudinal profiles of salinity and flow discharge agree reasonably well with field observations but salinity effects on the rates of both evaporation and salt precipitation need to be taken into account. Laboratory experiments were conducted to develop a simple model for the former effect while the latter effect was accounted for by using existing information. Field measurements provided calibration of the model parameters. The observed longitudinal salinity gradients are correlated with the biological structure of the associated ecosystem to explain, for instance, the existence of specific flamingos' feeding areas in the system.

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A limnological reconnaissance of Lake Tebenquiche, Salar de Atacama, Chile

Cited by 38 publications

References 2 publications

Extremophiles: photosynthetic systems in a high-altitude saline basin (Altiplano, Chile)

Extremophiles: photosynthetic systems in a high-altitude saline basin (Altiplano, Chile)

Artemia (Crustacea, Anostraca) in Chile: a review of basic and applied biology

Temporal and spatial features of the thermohydrodynamics of shallow salty lagoons in northern Chile

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