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Microbial mat communities in response to recent changes in the physiochemical environment of the meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

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Abstract

In spite of their dominance in meltwater environments in the Polar Regions, little is known about conditions that control community structure and production in microbial mats. Microbial mats were sampled at 13 recently separated ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica, with the aim to determine microbial mat community response to shifts in deterministic processes. Community structure in ponds of different size classes responded to different environmental variables, with conductivity as a common theme. Biomass and net oxygen exchange did not vary across the pond conditions and may reflect the very slow turnover rates characteristic of Antarctic microbial communities. Microbial mat communities on the MIS appear unresponsive to large intra-annual variability, while the long-term inter-annual physiochemical environment of the overlying appears to be influencing the community dynamics.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded and supported by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (CO1605) and Antarctica New Zealand. Ian Hawes is thanked for his assistance in the field. Map and pond diagram was prepared by Greg Kelly. Dr. Clive Howard-Williams and three anonymous reviews provided useful comments that helped strengthen this manuscript.

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  1. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, PO Box 8602, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Donna L. Sutherland

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  1. Donna L. Sutherland
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Correspondence to Donna L. Sutherland.

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Sutherland, D.L. Microbial mat communities in response to recent changes in the physiochemical environment of the meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. Polar Biol 32, 1023–1032 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0601-x

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