@article {4578, title = {Antarctic ecosystems in transition {\textendash} life between stresses and opportunities}, journal = {Biological Reviews}, year = {2021}, month = {06/2021}, abstract = {

Important findings from the second decade of the 21st century on the impact of environmental change on biological processes in the Antarctic were synthesised by 26 international experts. Ten key messages emerged that have stakeholder-relevance and/or a high impact for the scientific community. They address (i) altered biogeochemical cycles, (ii) ocean acidification, (iii) climate change hotspots, (iv) unexpected dynamism in seabed-dwelling populations, (v) spatial range shifts, (vi) adaptation and thermal resilience, (vii) sea ice related biological fluctuations, (viii) pollution, (ix) endangered terrestrial endemism and (x) the discovery of unknown habitats. Most Antarctic biotas are exposed to multiple stresses and considered vulnerable to environmental change due to narrow tolerance ranges, rapid change, projected circumpolar impacts, low potential for timely genetic adaptation, and migration barriers. Important ecosystem functions, such as primary production and energy transfer between trophic levels, have already changed, and biodiversity patterns have shifted. A confidence assessment of the degree of \‘scientific understanding\’ revealed an intermediate level for most of the more detailed sub-messages, indicating that process-oriented research has been successful in the past decade. Additional efforts are necessary, however, to achieve the level of robustness in scientific knowledge that is required to inform protection measures of the unique Antarctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and their contributions to global biodiversity and ecosystem services.

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM, adaptation, benthic dynamism, biogeochemical cycles, climate change, invasion, new habitats, ocean acidification, Primary production, range shifts, sea ice}, doi = {10.1111/brv.12679}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12679}, author = {Gutt, Julian and Isla, Enrique and Xavier, Jos{\'e} C. and Adams, Byron J. and Ahn, In-Young and Cheng, C.-H. Christina and Colesie, Claudia and Cummings, Vonda J. and di Prisco, Guido and Griffiths, Huw J. and Ian Hawes and Hogg, Ian D. and McIntyre, Trevor and Meiners, Klaus M. and Pearce, David A. and Lloyd S. Peck and Piepenburg, Dieter and Reisinger, Ryan R. and Saba, Grace and Schloss, Irene R. and Signori, Camila N. and Smith, Craig R. and Vacchi, Marino and Verde, Cinzia and Diana H. Wall} } @article {3248, title = {Antarctic microbial mats: A modern analog for Archean lacustrine oxygen oases}, journal = {Geology}, year = {2015}, month = {10/2015}, pages = {G36966.1}, abstract = {

The evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis was the most important geochemical event in

Earth history, causing the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) ~2.4 b.y. ago. However, evidence is mixed as to whether O2 production occurred locally as much as 2.8 b.y. ago, creating O2 oases, or initiated just prior to the GOE. The biogeochemical dynamics of possible O2 oases have been poorly constrained due to the absence of modern analogs. However, cyanobacteria in microbial mats in a perennially anoxic region of Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, create a 1\–2 mm O2-containing layer in the upper mat during summer, providing the first known modern analog for formation of benthic O2 oases. In Lake Fryxell, benthic cyanobacteria are present below the oxycline in the lake. Mat photosynthesis rates were slow due to low photon flux rate (1\–2 μmol m-2 s-1) under thick ice cover, but photosynthetic O2 production was sufficient to sustain up to 50 μmol O2 L-1, sandwiched between anoxic overlying water and anoxic sedi- ments. We hypothesize that Archean cyanobacteria could have similarly created O2 oases in benthic mats prior to the GOE. Analogous mats may have been at least partly responsible for geological evidence of oxidative weathering prior to the GOE, and habitats such as Lake Fryxell provide natural laboratories where the impact of benthic O2 oases on biogeochemical signatures can be investigated.\ 

}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, issn = {0091-7613}, doi = {10.1130/G36966.1}, url = {http://geology.gsapubs.org/lookup/doi/10.1130/G36966.1}, author = {Sumner, Dawn Y. and Ian Hawes and Mackey, Tyler J. and Jungblut, Anne D. and Peter T. Doran} } @article {1410, title = {Absorption and utilization of low irradiance by cyanobacterial mats in two ice-covered Antarctic lakes}, journal = {Journal of Phycology}, volume = {37}, year = {2001}, pages = {5-15}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Ian Hawes and Schwartz, A-M} } @inbook {1544, title = {The abundance of planktonic virus-like particles in Antarctic lakes}, booktitle = {Ecosystem Processes in Antarctic Ice-free Landscapes}, year = {1997}, pages = {241-250}, publisher = {Balkema Press}, organization = {Balkema Press}, address = {Rotterdam}, keywords = {LTER-MCM}, author = {Kepner, R.L. and Robert A. Wharton Jr. and Galchenko, V} }