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dc.contributor.authorCowan, Don A.
dc.contributor.authorKhan, Nuraan
dc.contributor.authorPointing, Stephen B.
dc.contributor.authorCary, S. Craig
dc.date.accessioned2011-02-23T21:43:53Z
dc.date.available2011-02-23T21:43:53Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.identifier.citationCowan, D.A., Khan, N., Pointing, S.B. & Cary, S.C. (2010). Diverse hypolithic refuge communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Antarctic Science, 22(6), 714-720.en_NZ
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10289/5090
dc.description.abstractHyper-arid deserts present extreme challenges to life. The environmental buffering provided by quartz and other translucent rocks allows hypolithic microbial communities to develop on sub-soil surfaces of such rocks. These refuge communities have been reported, for many locations worldwide, to be predominantly cyanobacterial in nature. Here we report the discovery in Antarctica’s hyper-arid McMurdo Dry Valleys of three clearly distinguishable types of hypolithic community. Based on gross colonization morphology and identification of dominant taxa, we have classified hypolithic communities as Type I (cyanobacterial dominated), Type II (fungal dominated) and Type III (moss dominated). This discovery supports a growing awareness of the high biocomplexity in Antarctic deserts, emphasizes the possible importance of cryptic microbial communities in nutrient cycling and provides evidence for possible successional community processes within a cold arid landscape.en_NZ
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCambridge University Pressen_NZ
dc.relation.urihttp://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7929589en_NZ
dc.rightsCopyright Antarctic Science 2010.
dc.subjectAntarcticen_NZ
dc.subjectcrypticen_NZ
dc.subjectcyanobacteriaen_NZ
dc.subjecthypolithsen_NZ
dc.subjectmicrobial diversityen_NZ
dc.titleDiverse hypolithic refuge communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleysen_NZ
dc.typeJournal Articleen_NZ
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S0954102010000507en_NZ
dc.relation.isPartOfAntarctic Scienceen_NZ
pubs.begin-page714en_NZ
pubs.elements-id35737
pubs.end-page720en_NZ
pubs.issue6en_NZ
pubs.volume22en_NZ


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