Abstract
Colonization stages and early development of a matforming microbenthic community were studied during a 1-year period in a newly constructed hypersaline solar pond situated in the Dead Sea area. The pond had an inversely stratified water column consisting of a cool convective epilimnion of diluted Dead Sea water, a thermocline, and non-convective hot Dead Sea water at the bottom. The sharp halocline was maintained by adding fresh water to the upper water mass. Unicellular cyanobacteria and diatoms were the pioneer colonizers of the pond slopes. Metazoan grazers were absent, eliminated by the unique chemical composition of the Dead Sea water. Chlorophyll-a concentrations, reflecting photosynthetically active biomass, were highest within the shallow epilimnetic zone of the littoral (reaching 278 mg/m2), and declined abruptly in the gradient zone. Both temperature and salinity appeared to be major limiting factors in this environment. Cyanobacteria were more resistant to high temperatures, attaining optimal growth up to approximately 48 °C. Within optimal temperature limits, microbenthos development was best in the lower salinities of 50–70 g/1. Salinities of 100–150 g/1 seem to be an upper limit for this community. Chlorophyll-a decline at the onset of the gradient zone, where favorable temperatures and salinities prevailed, is attributed to pronounced salinity fluctuations occurring at this level. At the end of the first year, the young stromatolitic mat was several millimeters thick and well consolidated due to gelatinous polysaccharides excreted by cyanobacteria.
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Dor, I., Carl, N., Schidlowski, M. (1992). Experimental Hypersaline Ponds as Model Environments for Stromatolite Formation 1. Microbenthos Composition and Biomass Accumulation. In: Schidlowski, M., Golubic, S., Kimberley, M.M., McKirdy, D.M., Trudinger, P.A. (eds) Early Organic Evolution. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76884-2_39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76884-2_39
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