Biocryomorphology: Integrating Microbial Processes with Ice Surface Hydrology, Topography, and Roughness

Cook, Joseph M.; Edwards, Arwyn; Hubbard, Alun

doi:10.3389/feart.2015.00078

Cited by 32 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Glacier organisms may influence the size of cryoconite holes (McIntyre, 1984). Therefore, the presence or absence of invertebrates (which are considerably larger than bacteria, viruses or algae), could affect the melting of glacier surfaces and should be discussed in future literature as a part of bicryomorphological studies (Zawierucha et al, 2015a;Cook et al, 2015). The presence of unique cryoconite tardigrade species indicate cryoconites as distinctive extreme habitats and tardigrades as a constant element in a glacial biome, with different communities structure than in tundra.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and distribution of Tardigrada in Arctic cryoconite holes

et al. 2016

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and distribution of Tardigrada in Arctic cryoconite holes

et al. 2016

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“…13) is a granular mixture of biological and inorganic material that, by reducing albedo and increasing localised melting, forms water filled holes in ice surfaces, a process that has recently been termed biocryomorphology. 21 Therefore, cryoconite holes are a very different type of habitat on the ice surface as the cryoconite (sediment) material is well submerged in water that is just above the freezing point. The main primary producer in cryoconite holes is cyanobacteria and the filamentous cyanobacterium Phormidesmis priestleyi , which is known from Arctic, Alpine and Antarctic environments, 15 exhibits adaptations that contribute to the development of cryoconite granules.…”

Section: Cyanobacteria In Cryoconite Holesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microbiome of glaciers and ice sheets

Anesio

Lutz

Chrismas

et al. 2017

npj Biofilms Microbiomes

222

194

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Glaciers and ice sheets, like other biomes, occupy a significant area of the planet and harbour biological communities with distinct interactions and feedbacks with their physical and chemical environment. In the case of the glacial biome, the biological processes are dominated almost exclusively by microbial communities. Habitats on glaciers and ice sheets with enough liquid water to sustain microbial activity include snow, surface ice, cryoconite holes, englacial systems and the interface between ice and overridden rock/soil. There is a remarkable similarity between the different specific glacial habitats across glaciers and ice sheets worldwide, particularly regarding their main primary producers and ecosystem engineers. At the surface, cyanobacteria dominate the carbon production in aquatic/sediment systems such as cryoconite holes, while eukaryotic Zygnematales and Chlamydomonadales dominate ice surfaces and snow dynamics, respectively. Microbially driven chemolithotrophic processes associated with sulphur and iron cycle and C transformations in subglacial ecosystems provide the basis for chemical transformations at the rock interface under the ice that underpin an important mechanism for the delivery of nutrients to downstream ecosystems. In this review, we focus on the main ecosystem engineers of glaciers and ice sheets and how they interact with their chemical and physical environment. We then discuss the implications of this microbial activity on the icy microbiome to the biogeochemistry of downstream ecosystems.

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“…A new term -biocryomorphology -was embedded by Cook et al (2015), which describes ice-organisms interaction. Glacier organisms can influence the size of cryoconite holes (McIntyre 1984), therefore, despite perturbations on the ice surface, high densities of tardigrades may influence speed of ice melting and cryoconite hole size.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Area, depth and elevation of cryoconite holes in the Arctic do not influence Tardigrada densities

Zawierucha¹,

Vonnahme²,

Devetter³

et al. 2016

Polish Polar Research

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Water bears (Tardigrada) are known as one of the most extremophile animals in the world. They inhabit environments from the deepest parts of the oceans up to the highest mountains. One of the most extreme and still poorly studied habitats which tardigrades inhabit are cryoconite holes. We analysed the relation between area, depth, elevation and tardigrades densities in cryoconite holes on four glaciers on Spitsbergen. The mean (±SD) of cryoconite area was 1287.21±2400.8 cm 2 , while the depth was on average 10.8±11.2 cm, the elevation 172.6±109.66 m a.s.l., and tardigrade density 24.9±33.0 individuals per gram of wet material (n = 38). The densities of tardigrades on Hans Glacier reached values of up to 168 ind. cm 3 , 104 ind. g -1 wet weight, and 275 ind. g -1 dry weight. The densities of tardigrades of the three glaciers in Billefjorden were up to 82 ind. cm 2 , 326 ind. g -1 wet weight and 624 ind. g -1 dry weight. Surprisingly, although the model included area, depth and elevation as independent variables, it cannot explain Tardigrada density in cryoconite holes. We propose that due to the rapid melting of the glacier surface in the Arctic, the constant flushing of cryoconite sediments, and inter-hole water-sediment mixing, the functioning of these ecosystems is disrupted. We conclude that cryoconite holes are dynamic ecosystems for microinvertebrates in the Arctic.

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Biocryomorphology: Integrating Microbial Processes with Ice Surface Hydrology, Topography, and Roughness

Cited by 32 publications

References 37 publications

Diversity and distribution of Tardigrada in Arctic cryoconite holes

Diversity and distribution of Tardigrada in Arctic cryoconite holes

The microbiome of glaciers and ice sheets

Area, depth and elevation of cryoconite holes in the Arctic do not influence Tardigrada densities

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