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Structure of planktonic microbial communities along a trophic gradient in lakes of Byers Peninsula, South Shetland Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

Carlos Rochera ,
Manuel Toro ,
Eugenio Rico ,
Eduardo Fernández-Valiente ,
Juan Antonio Villaescusa ,
Antonio Picazo ,
Antonio Quesada  and
Antonio Camacho
Carlos Rochera
Affiliation:
Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva y Departamento de Microbiología y Ecología, Edificio de Investigación, Campus de Burjassot, Universitat de Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
Manuel Toro
Affiliation:
Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos (CEDEX), Paseo Bajo Virgen del Puerto, 3, 28005 Madrid, Spain
Eugenio Rico
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Eduardo Fernández-Valiente
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Juan Antonio Villaescusa
Affiliation:
Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva y Departamento de Microbiología y Ecología, Edificio de Investigación, Campus de Burjassot, Universitat de Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
Antonio Picazo
Affiliation:
Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva y Departamento de Microbiología y Ecología, Edificio de Investigación, Campus de Burjassot, Universitat de Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
Antonio Quesada
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Antonio Camacho*
Affiliation:
Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva y Departamento de Microbiología y Ecología, Edificio de Investigación, Campus de Burjassot, Universitat de Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
*
antonio.camacho@uv.es
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Abstract

A systematic limnological survey of water bodies of Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands) was carried out during the summer of 2001/02. Abundances of microbial plankton were determined which allowed a delineation of the pelagic food web structure. We also report the nutrient status of these lakes. We demonstrate the occurrence of a trophic gradient that extended from upland lakes (oligotrophic) to the coastal ones (eutrophic). The study shows that a lake's morphology regulates the relative importance of the pelagic and benthic habitats, whereas nutrient loads mainly determine its trophic status. Yet, some of the variability observed could be also a legacy of the landscape. Photosynthetic pigments analyses by high-performance liquid chromatography of the lake waters revealed a major occurrence of chlorophytes, chrysophytes and diatoms. The chlorophyll a concentrations in lakes in the central plateau were consistently lower (< 2.5 μg l-1) than coastal sites, which were one order of magnitude higher. Numbers of both bacterioplankton and autotrophic picoplankton also increased from inland to coastal sites. However, the relative role of autotrophic picoplankton in the total phytoplankton assemblage decreased with the increase in nutrients loads. Our results show that the trophic status clearly plays a significant role in structuring the pelagic communities of these lakes despite climatic constraints.

Keywords

autotrophic picoplanktonbacterioplanktoneutrophicationMaritime Antarctic lakesmicrobial food webphotosynthetic pigments
Type
Research Articles
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 2: Byers Peninsula – A New Reference Site For The Maritime Antarctic , April 2013 , pp. 277 - 287
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013

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