@article {4153,
	title = {Biotic interactions are an unexpected yet critical control on the complexity of an abiotically driven polar ecosystem},
	journal = {Communications Biology},
	volume = {2},
	year = {2019},
	month = {02/2019},
	abstract = {<p>Abiotic and biotic factors control ecosystem biodiversity, but their relative contributions remain unclear. The ultraoligotrophic ecosystem of the Antarctic Dry Valleys, a simple yet highly heterogeneous ecosystem, is a natural laboratory well-suited for resolving the abiotic and biotic controls of community structure. We undertook a multidisciplinary investigation to capture ecologically relevant biotic and abiotic attributes of more than 500 sites in the Dry Valleys, encompassing observed landscape heterogeneities across more than 200 km<sup>2</sup>. Using richness of autotrophic and heterotrophic taxa as a proxy for functional complexity, we linked measured variables in a parsimonious yet comprehensive structural equation model that explained significant variations in biological complexity and identified landscape-scale and fine-scale abiotic factors as the primary drivers of diversity. However, the inclusion of linkages among functional groups was essential for constructing the best-fitting model. Our findings support the notion that biotic interactions make crucial contributions even in an extremely simple ecosystem.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-MCM},
	doi = {10.1038/s42003-018-0274-5},
	url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-018-0274-5},
	author = {Charles K. Lee and Laughlin, Daniel C. and Bottos, Eric M. and Caruso, Tancredi and Joy, Kurt and John E. Barrett and Brabyn, Lars and Uffe N. Nielsen and Byron Adams and Diana H. Wall and D. W. Hopkins and Pointing, Steve B. and McDonald, Ian R. and Cowan, Don A. and Banks, Jonathan C. and Stichbury, Glen A. and Jones, Irfon and Zawar-Reza, Peyman and Katurji, Marwan and Hogg, Ian D. and Sparrow, Ashley D. and Storey, Bryan C. and Allan Green, T. G. and Craig S Cary}
}
@article {4164,
	title = {Nematodes in a polar desert reveal the relative role of biotic interactions in the coexistence of soil animals},
	journal = {Communications Biology},
	volume = {2},
	year = {2019},
	month = {02/2019},
	abstract = {<p>Abiotic factors are major determinants of soil animal distributions and their dominant role is pronounced in extreme ecosystems, with biotic interactions seemingly playing a minor role. We modelled co-occurrence and distribution of the three nematode species that dominate the soil food web of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica). Abiotic factors, other biotic groups, and autocorrelation all contributed to structuring nematode species distributions. However, after removing their effects, we found that the presence of the most abundant nematode species greatly, and negatively, affected the probability of detecting one of the other two species. We observed similar patterns in relative abundances for two out of three pairs of species. Harsh abiotic conditions alone are insufficient to explain contemporary nematode distributions whereas the role of negative biotic interactions has been largely underestimated in soil. The future challenge is to understand how the effects of global change on biotic interactions will alter species coexistence.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-MCM},
	doi = {10.1038/s42003-018-0260-y},
	url = {http://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-018-0260-y},
	author = {Caruso, Tancredi and Hogg, Ian D. and Uffe N. Nielsen and Bottos, Eric M. and Charles K. Lee and D. W. Hopkins and Craig S Cary and John E. Barrett and Green, T. G. Allan and Storey, Bryan C. and Diana H. Wall and Byron Adams}
}
@article {1083,
	title = {Local and regional influences over soil microbial metacommunities in the Transantarctic Mountains},
	journal = {Ecosphere},
	volume = {4},
	year = {2013},
	month = {11/2013},
	pages = {art136},
	keywords = {LTER-MCM},
	doi = {10.1890/ES13-00136.1},
	author = {Eric R. Sokol and Herbold, Craig W. and Charles K. Lee and Craig S Cary and John E. Barrett}
}
