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Diversity and Ecology of Cyanobacterial Microflora of Antarctic Seepage Habitats: Comparison of King George Island, Shetland Islands, and James Ross Island, NW Weddell Sea, Antarctica

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Microbial Mats

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology ((COLE,volume 14))

Abstract

Antarctic seepages are a unique biotope with special communities of algae and cyanobacteria, characterized by their unique species composition and life strategies. The seepages are supplied by melting water from permafrost, glaciers, and snow fields. Filamentous cyanobacteria are the first colonizers; they fill the space of the shallow water body and form algal mats on the surface of flooded soils. Algal communities in Antarctic seepages are characterized by special zonation and seasonality. They are important components of the Antarctic coastal ecosystems, and they are highly sensitive to climatic changes and fluctuations during the polar summer season. The study of the taxonomy and ecology of the individual populations is highly important for the protection of this biotope. This review compares the characteristic mat communities from two disparate Antarctic coastal ecosystems: maritime Antarctica – King George Island and NW Weddell Sea – James Ross Island.

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Acknowledgments

Our studies in Antarctica were supported by the grant Nos. 206/05/0253, 206/07/1789, and IAA600050704 (Grant Agency of the Czech Republic – GA CR). The authors thank for the technical help from the directory and members of the Polish Antarctic Station “Henryk Arctowski” and the Czech Antarctic Station “J.G. Mendel.” The climatological data were provided by Dr. Kamil Láska and Professor Dr. Pavel Prošek, Dept. of Geography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Masaryk University, Brno, geological characteristics by Dr. Daniel Nývlt, Czech Geological Service, Prague, Czech Republic. Cited diatoms were identified by Dr. Václav Houk, Institute of Botany AS CR, Třeboň, Czech Republic. Figures 4–6 are published with the kind permission from Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, and Figs. 9–13 are published with the permission from Springer Science+Business Media.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Systems Biology and Ecology ASCR and Institute of Physical Biology, University of South Bohemia, Zámek 136, CZ, 37333, Nové Hrady, Czech Republic

    Ondřej Komárek

  2. Botanical Institute ASCR, Třeboň and Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, CZ, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Jiří Komárek

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  1. Ondřej Komárek
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Correspondence to Ondřej Komárek .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jerusalem, Mevo Hadas 20, Efrat, 90435, Israel

    Joseph Seckbach

  2. Inst. Life Sciences, Div. Microbial and Molecular Ecology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Givat Ram Campus, Jerusalem, 91 904, Israel

    Aharon Oren

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Komárek, O., Komárek, J. (2010). Diversity and Ecology of Cyanobacterial Microflora of Antarctic Seepage Habitats: Comparison of King George Island, Shetland Islands, and James Ross Island, NW Weddell Sea, Antarctica. In: Seckbach, J., Oren, A. (eds) Microbial Mats. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3799-2_27

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