Desiccation, but not shading, substantially shifts the microbial community composition of benthic microbial mats in meltwater ponds near Bratina Island, Antarctica

Clicks: 2
ID: 318571
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
Emerging

Ranked #65 of 78 articles by views in fems microbiology ecology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract The Bratina Island meltwater ponds (McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica) host complex microbial communities in the form of benthic microbial mats. These ponds are long-lasting but can experience significant alterations in physicochemistry on an annual or decadal basis, with additional alterations expected due to climate change. Here, we explored the impact of two potential future climate scenarios on the 16S rRNA gene sequence-based microbial community composition of three meltwater pond mats: desiccation (due to decreased precipitation and/or increased evaporation) and shading (due to increased precipitation resulting in increased ice cover). In a multi-year manipulation experiment, we found that the mat bacterial community composition shifted substantially with desiccation in all ponds studied. Desiccation reduced overall diversity, with cyanobacteria mostly being lost and members of the Bacteroidota phylum increasing in abundance. Halotolerance was indicated as a potential trait allowing for survival upon desiccation. We found that the community composition of the mats was resilient to shading (in the form of 75% light reduction), with no significant changes in composition observed. Instead, we observed a strong coloration change in the mats in response to shading, which could be due to positive phototaxis of Oscillatoria trichomes in the shaded mats. These results help inform how the prokaryotic communities in these highly productive mats may respond to future climate scenarios.
Reference Key
openalex_W7165745774 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Stephen E. Noell, Elizabeth Catherine Colville, Alexis Marshall, Ian Hawes, Ian R. McDonald
Journal fems microbiology ecology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/femsec/fiag069
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiag069
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.