Frontiers | Geochemically Defined Space-for-Time Transects Successfully Capture Microbial Dynamics Along Lacustrine Chronosequences in a Polar Desert

The space-for-time substitution approach provides a valuable empirical assessment to infer temporal effects of disturbance from spatial gradients. Applied to predict the response of different ecosystems under current climate change scenarios, it remains poorly tested in microbial ecology studies, partly due to the trophic complexity of the ecosystems studied. The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica represent a trophically simple polar desert projected to experience drastic changes in water availability under current climate change predictions. We used this ideal model system to develop and validate a microbial space-for-time sampling approach, using the variation of geochemical profiles that follow alterations in water availability and reflect past and future changes in the system. Our framework measured soil electrical conductivity, pH, and water activity in situ to geochemically define 17 space-for-time transects from the shores of four dynamic and two static Dry Valley lakes. We identified microbial taxa that are consistently responsive to changes in wetness in the soils and reliably associated with long-term dry or wet edaphic conditions. Comparisons between transects defined at static and dynamic lakes highlighted the capacity for geochemically defined space-for-time gradients to identify lasting deterministic impacts of historical changes in water presence on the structure and diversity of extant microbial communities. We highlight the potential for geochemically defined space-for-time transects to resolve legacy impacts of environmental change when used in conjunction with static and dynamic scenarios, and to inform future environmental scenarios through changes in the microbial community structure, composition and diversity.

Related Keywords

United States ,New York ,New Zealand ,Taylor Valley ,California ,Antarctica ,Waikato ,Vienna ,Wien ,Austria ,Cambridge ,Cambridgeshire ,United Kingdom ,States Lee ,Mdvs Niederberger ,Ramoneda Massague ,Lakes Vanda ,Van Horn ,Rr Core Team ,Microbial Community Analysis ,Ipcc ,Zealand Antarctic Research Institute ,Zealand Ministry Of Business ,Microbial Community Composition Along Wetness Transects ,Cambridge University Press ,Facility University Of Waikato ,Contribution Of Working Group ,Mcdonald ,Invitrogen Inc ,R Foundation For Statistical Computing ,Cambridge University ,Schwartz ,University Of Waikato Doctoral Scholarship ,Microbial Community Structure Along Wetness Transects ,Scott Base The New Zealand ,Colman ,Community Ecology Package ,Pearson ,Valley Ecosystem Resilience Dryver Programme ,Mcmurdo Dry Valleys ,Lake Vanda ,Lake Bonney ,Lake Fryxell ,Wright Valleys ,Space For Time Transects ,Lake Brownworth ,Spaulding Pond ,Lake Hoare ,Wright Valley ,Supplementary Figures ,Thermo Scientific Orion ,Topcon Laser Systems ,Scott Base ,New Zealand Antarctic Research Station ,Thermo Fisher Scientific ,Platinum Taq ,Next Generation Sequencing ,Multiple Alignment ,Fast Fourier Transform ,Random Forest ,Taylor Valleys ,Supplementary Figure ,Supplementary Table ,Phylogenetic Diversity ,Lake Borwnworth ,Water Availability Reflected ,Antarctic Treaty ,Antarctic Biota ,Ecosystems Project ,New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute ,Dry Valley Ecosystem Resilience ,New Zealand Ministry ,Smart Ideas ,Waikato Doctoral ,Antarctica New Zealand ,Supplementary Material ,Med Abstract ,Crossref Full Text ,Genomes Online Database ,Nucleic Acids ,Mcmurdo Dry ,Climate Change ,Physical Science ,Sixth Assessment Report ,Intergovernmental Panel ,Antarctic Mcmurdo Dry ,Southern Ocean ,Antarctic Dry ,Community Ecology ,Long Term Studies ,Springer New York ,Core Team ,Elegant Graphics ,East Antarctica ,Space For Time Sft Substitution ,Olar Desert Environments ,Microbial Communities ,Oisture Gradients ,