Microbial ecology of geothermal habitats in Antarctica
Details of Research
TitleMicrobial ecology of geothermal habitats in AntarcticaAbstractGeothermal features in Antarctica generate liquid water and establish physicochemical gradients that provide habitat for diverse microbes. Studies on the microbial ecology of these features using traditional techniques have shown that the high-altitude, continental volcanoes (Mt. Erebus, Mt. Melbourne and Mt. Rittmann) possess microbial communities that share key taxa and are unique from the communities found in the distant geothermal habitats at Deception Island. In recent years, the application of molecular work has revealed the presence of potentially endemic organisms that previously escaped detection. While still in its infancy, the application of molecular strategies promises to revolutionize our current understanding of this habitat. Copyright 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights reserved.AcknowledgementsOur work in Antarctica has been supported financially by grant UOW0802 from the New Zealand Marsden Fund to SCC and IRM, a CRE award from the National Geographic Society to SCC and by the University of Waikato Strategic Initiative Fund through the International Centre of Terrestrial Antarctic Research (ICTAR). Logistic support for our field-work has been provided by Antarctica New Zealand. We would like to thank Professor Leopoldo G. Sancho (Universidad Complutense) and Professor T. G. Allen Green (Universidad Complutense) for arranging CWH to participate in Campana Antartida XXV (2011--12) at Gabriel de Castilla Base on Deception Island. We extend our gratitude to Professor Paul Broady (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) for granting us access to his personal collection of maps and geothermal feature descriptions of Mt. Erebus. Finally, we would like to extend our gratitude to the hard-working staff of Scott Base (NZ), Mario Zucchelli Station (ITA) and Gabriel de Castilla Base (ESP), who fed us, kept us warm and ensured our safety during our data-collecting expeditions.
TypeBookCitationHerbold, C., McDonald, I. and Cary, S. (2014). Microbial ecology of geothermal habitats in Antarctica. In: Cowan, D. (eds) Antarctic Terrestrial Microbiology. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.IdentifierHerbold2014bRelevancerank5
