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The diatom flora and limnology of lakes in the Amery Oasis, East Antarctica

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Abstract

The diatom flora of three lakes in the ice-free Amery Oasis, East Antarctica, was studied. Two of the lakes are meltwater reservoirs, Terrasovoje Lake (31 m depth) and Radok Lake (362 m depth), while Beaver Lake (>435 m depth) is an epishelf lake. The lakes can be characterized as cold, ultra-oligotrophic and alkaline, displaying moderate (Radok and Terrasovoje lakes) to high (Beaver Lake) conductivities. There was no diatom phytoplankton present in any of the three lakes. While 34 benthic diatom taxa were identified from modern and Holocene sediments of Terrasovoje and Radok lakes, a 30-cm long sediment core recovered in Beaver Lake was barren. Five species (Luticola muticopsis, Muelleria peraustralis, Pinnularia cymatopleura, Psammothidium metakryophilum, P. stauroneioides) are endemic to the Antarctic region. All identified taxa are photographically documented and brief notes on their taxonomy, biogeography and ecology are provided. The most abundant diatom taxa are Amphora veneta, Craticula cf. molesta, Diadesmis spp, M. peraustralis and Stauroneis anceps. This is the first report on the diatom flora in lakes of the Amery Oasis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Gerald Müller (AWI, Potsdam) and Martin Klug (University of Leipzig) for field assistance and Antje Eulenberg (AWI, Potsdam) for laboratory assistance. This study is supported by the research project “Palaeoenvironments of the Antarctic coast, from 50°E to 120°E”, funded by the Australian Antarctic Scientific Advisory Committee (Kingston, Tasmania; ASAC Grant No. 1071). The manuscript benefitted from the valuable comments of three anonymous referees who also contributed to an improvement of the language.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Palaeoecology, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Utrecht University, Budapestlaan 4, 3584 CD, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Holger Cremer

  2. Department of Physical Geography, Macquarie University, New South Wales, 2109, Australia

    Damian Gore

  3. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Am Telegrafenberg A43, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Nadja Hultzsch

  4. Faculty for Physics and Geoscience, Institute for Geophysics and Geology, University of Leipzig, Talstrasse 35, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Martin Melles & Bernd Wagner

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  1. Holger Cremer
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  2. Damian Gore
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  3. Nadja Hultzsch
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  4. Martin Melles
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  5. Bernd Wagner
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Correspondence to Holger Cremer.

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Cremer, H., Gore, D., Hultzsch, N. et al. The diatom flora and limnology of lakes in the Amery Oasis, East Antarctica. Polar Biol 27, 513–531 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0624-2

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