Resilience in Antarctic biota and ecosystems - Aquatic
Antarctic lakes and ponds are home to some of the most spectacular microbial ecosystems on the planet. Environmental change is affecting the habitats in which these communities grow and we will conduct a series of investigations that will assess their ability to survive these changes. We will carry out an experiment to determine how rising water levels caused by accelerating glacier melt are affecting the unique microbial communities of Lake Fryxell. We’ll then look at microbial mats that live in ponds on the McMurdo Ice shelf to determine their resilience to changes in ice cover and water level.Antarctic lakes and ponds are home to some of the most spectacular microbial ecosystems on the planet. Environmental change is affecting the habitats in which these communities grow and we will conduct a series of investigations that will assess their ability to survive these changes. We will carry out an experiment to determine how rising water levels caused by accelerating glacier melt are affecting the unique microbial communities of Lake Fryxell. We’ll then look at microbial mats that live in ponds on the McMurdo Ice shelf to determine their resilience to changes in ice cover and water level.
