Ecological Aspects of Antarctic Microbiology

Wynn‐Williams, D. D.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-7612-5_3

Cited by 170 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 174 publications

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“…This was to be expected, given the high temperatures encountered by the algae on most days during the growth season. This finding is consistent with reports of other microbial processes from Antarctic habitats where true psychrophily is rare (reviewed in Vincent, 1988;Wynn-Williams, 1990a) and with measurements of the temperature range for growth of other Antarctic soil algae (Seaburg et al, 1981). One exception to the 15-20°C optimum is Zygnema, which displays lower optimum growth temperatures at low light intensities; this may reflect its natural growth period when the soil is still covered by snow as discussed below.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Effects of physical factors on the survival and growth of antarctic terrestrial algae

Davey

1991

British Phycological Journal

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Cyanobacteria and eucaryotic algae, hereafter referred to jointly as microalgae, are primary colonizers of the fellfield soils of the maritime Antarctic (Wynn-Williams, 1986, 1990a. These areas are being increasingly exposed by the retreating ice cover (Smith, 1990).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of physical factors on the survival and growth of antarctic terrestrial algae

Davey

1991

British Phycological Journal

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“…Nevertheless, the increased abundance and diversity of cyanobacterial pigments provided corroborating evidence for the development of a diverse photosynthetic community during these earliest stages of succession. Work in Antarctica and the High Arctic has also suggested an important role for cyanobacteria in recently ice-covered barren soils ( Wynn-Williams 1990;Kaštovská et al 2005;Breen & Lévesque 2006), but our work is the first to document the rapid establishment of these versatile organisms in such high-elevation soils.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

The earliest stages of ecosystem succession in high-elevation (5000 metres above sea level), recently deglaciated soils

et al. 2008

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Global climate change has accelerated the pace of glacial retreat in high-latitude and high-elevation environments, exposing lands that remain devoid of vegetation for many years. The exposure of 'new' soil is particularly apparent at high elevations (5000 metres above sea level) in the Peruvian Andes, where extreme environmental conditions hinder plant colonization. Nonetheless, these seemingly barren soils contain a diverse microbial community; yet the biogeochemical role of micro-organisms at these extreme elevations remains unknown. Using biogeochemical and molecular techniques, we investigated the biological community structure and ecosystem functioning of the pre-plant stages of primary succession in soils along a high-Andean chronosequence. We found that recently glaciated soils were colonized by a diverse community of cyanobacteria during the first 4-5 years following glacial retreat. This significant increase in cyanobacterial diversity corresponded with equally dramatic increases in soil stability, heterotrophic microbial biomass, soil enzyme activity and the presence and abundance of photosynthetic and photoprotective pigments. Furthermore, we found that soil nitrogen-fixation rates increased almost two orders of magnitude during the first 4-5 years of succession, many years before the establishment of mosses, lichens or vascular plants. Carbon analyses (pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy) of soil organic matter suggested that soil carbon along the chronosequence was of microbial origin. This indicates that inputs of nutrients and organic matter during early ecosystem development at these sites are dominated by microbial carbon and nitrogen fixation. Overall, our results indicate that photosynthetic and nitrogen-fixing bacteria play important roles in acquiring nutrients and facilitating ecological succession in soils near some of the highest elevation receding glaciers on the Earth.

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“…The cold deserts of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, South Victoria Land, Eastern Antarctica, are widely acknowledged as having the harshest soil environments on Earth (6,8,26). Despite the apparent hostility of the environment, we and others have reported both unexpectedly high biomass (9) and phylogenetic diversity (1,19,24,29) in Antarctic soils.…”

mentioning

confidence: 56%

Identification of a Novel Alkaliphilic Esterase Active at Low Temperatures by Screening a Metagenomic Library from Antarctic Desert Soil

Heath

Cary

et al. 2009

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Ecological Aspects of Antarctic Microbiology

Cited by 170 publications

References 174 publications

Effects of physical factors on the survival and growth of antarctic terrestrial algae

Effects of physical factors on the survival and growth of antarctic terrestrial algae

The earliest stages of ecosystem succession in high-elevation (5000 metres above sea level), recently deglaciated soils

Identification of a Novel Alkaliphilic Esterase Active at Low Temperatures by Screening a Metagenomic Library from Antarctic Desert Soil

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