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Salinity control of the distribution of diatoms in lakes of the Bunger Hills, East Antarctica

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Abstract

The biogeography of Antarctic lacustrine diatoms is incompletely known due in part to the absence of information from some important ice-free regions. In the first detailed study of the diatoms of the Bunger Hills, 29 species were identified in near-edge microbial mats of lakes ranging in salinity from fresh to 77‰. Most of the species present had previously been recorded in other East Antarctic coastal oases. The distribution and relative abundance of diatoms within the Bunger Hills were strongly influenced by salinity, but other factors, notably the characteristics of lakes in the immediate area of a particular lake, also played important roles.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. Koen Sabbe, Luc Denys and Dom Hodgson for providing comment on the taxonomy of some species. We also thank Dr. Kerrie Swadling for assistance with the statistical analysis. Logistic support was provided by the Air Scoping Study, Australian Antarctic Division. Further support was obtained through the Australian Antarctic Science grant scheme (Grant 2387) and Australian Research Council (Discovery Grant DP0342815)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 77, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    John A. E. Gibson & Donna Roberts

  2. School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 5, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    John A. E. Gibson

  3. Unit for Polar Biology, Limnology and Paleobiology, Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen (CDE), Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium

    Bart Van de Vijver

  4. Nationale Plantentuin België, Domein van Bouchout, B-1860, Meise, Belgium

    Bart Van de Vijver

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  1. John A. E. Gibson
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  2. Donna Roberts
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  3. Bart Van de Vijver
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Correspondence to John A. E. Gibson.

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Gibson, J.A.E., Roberts, D. & Van de Vijver, B. Salinity control of the distribution of diatoms in lakes of the Bunger Hills, East Antarctica. Polar Biol 29, 694–704 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0107-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-006-0107-8

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