dc.contributor.author | Cowan, Don A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Khan, Nuraan | |
dc.contributor.author | Pointing, Stephen B. | |
dc.contributor.author | Cary, S. Craig | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2011-02-23T21:43:53Z | |
dc.date.available | 2011-02-23T21:43:53Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2010 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Cowan, 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.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10289/5090 | |
dc.description.abstract | Hyper-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.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.publisher | Cambridge University Press | en_NZ |
dc.relation.uri | http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7929589 | en_NZ |
dc.rights | Copyright Antarctic Science 2010. | |
dc.subject | Antarctic | en_NZ |
dc.subject | cryptic | en_NZ |
dc.subject | cyanobacteria | en_NZ |
dc.subject | hypoliths | en_NZ |
dc.subject | microbial diversity | en_NZ |
dc.title | Diverse hypolithic refuge communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys | en_NZ |
dc.type | Journal Article | en_NZ |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1017/S0954102010000507 | en_NZ |
dc.relation.isPartOf | Antarctic Science | en_NZ |
pubs.begin-page | 714 | en_NZ |
pubs.elements-id | 35737 | |
pubs.end-page | 720 | en_NZ |
pubs.issue | 6 | en_NZ |
pubs.volume | 22 | en_NZ |