Occurrence of nematodes, tardigrades and rotifers on ice-free areas in East Antarctica

Geothermal activity helps life survive glacial cycles

“…Recent geological estimates of ice thicknesses during the past 10 million years suggest that the ice cover was generally thinner than was previously thought, raising the likelihood of small, icefree rocky patches ("nunataks") being present (25,26). However, although such nunataks could have harbored some life, many nunatak fauna are unique to such environments or to specific parts of the continent (27)(28)(29), and nunataks thus cannot explain the persistence of a wider range of Antarctic species, especially coastal species, throughout the LGM (30). Similarly, although the McMurdo Dry Valleys are known to have been partly icefree at the LGM (31,32), supporting some life, typically low moisture levels drastically limit diversity in this region (24,25).…”

Species richness of soil and leaf litter tardigrades in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina/Tennessee, USA)

“…Porazinska et al (2002) and Moorhead et al (2003) indicated that the patchy distribution of suitable Antarctic soil habitats for micrometazoans (nematodes, tardigrades, and rotifers) and a combination of soil factors (soil moisture, organic carbon, and salinity) may limit micrometazoan abundance and diversity. In addition, Sohlenius et al (2004) (2008) collected tardigrades, nematodes, and rotifers on nunataks (mountain peaks above the ice sheet) in Antarctica. Tardigrades were common in moss and in fellfield soils (treeless, windy, stony areas) but not in ornithogenic soils (those created by penguin rookeries).…”

“…Hinton et al (2010) studied the diversity and density of tardigrades in the upper and lower horizons of leaf litter from Louisiana and Florida and compared their results with those of Guidetti et al (1999). In Antarctica, Petz (1997), Porazinska et al (2002), Moorhead et al (2003), Sohlenius et al (2004), and Sohlenius and Boström (2008) correlated tardigrade abundance with other micrometazoans, soil types, and possible environmental factors.…”

Microfauna Within Biological Soil Crusts

“…Microfauna can generally exist wherever sufficient microbial prey exists, and this usually matches the distribution of plant biomass or organic matter. This means that microfauna are associated with diverse types of biocrusts even in relatively extreme environments or with little moisture, such as sand savannas (Neher et al 2003), desert biocrusts (Belnap and Phillips 2001;Shepherd et al 2002), tropical inselbergs (Vaculik et al 2004), and Antarctic soils, glaciers, and hypoliths (Sohlenius et al 2004;Schwarz et al 1993; see Chap. 11 by Pointing).…”