Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea
The aggregation of surface debris particles on melting glaciers into larger units (cryoconite) provides microenvironments for various microorganisms and metabolic processes. Here we investigate the microbial community on the surface of Aldegondabreen, a valley glacier in Svalbard which is supplied w...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 |
| _version_ | 1797748139172560896 |
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| author | Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner |
| author_facet | Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner |
| author_sort | Jakub D Zarsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aggregation of surface debris particles on melting glaciers into larger units (cryoconite) provides microenvironments for various microorganisms and metabolic processes. Here we investigate the microbial community on the surface of Aldegondabreen, a valley glacier in Svalbard which is supplied with carbon and nutrients from different sources across its surface, including colonies of seabirds. We used a combination of geochemical analysis (of surface debris, ice and meltwater), quantitative polymerase chain reactions (targeting the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid and amoA genes), pyrosequencing and multivariate statistical analysis to suggest possible factors driving the ecology of prokaryotic microbes on the surface of Aldegondabreen and their potential role in nitrogen cycling. The combination of high nutrient input with subsidy from the bird colonies, supraglacial meltwater flow and the presence of fine, clay-like particles supports the formation of centimetre-scale cryoconite aggregates in some areas of the glacier surface. We show that a diverse microbial community is present, dominated by the cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, that are well-known in supraglacial environments. Importantly, ammonia-oxidizing archaea were detected in the aggregates for the first time on an Arctic glacier. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:01:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:01:37Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-63f529921c244cd4a1f25a58870fdefe2023-08-09T14:37:07ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262013-01-018303504410.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaeaJakub D Zarsky0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7072-0327Marek Stibal1Andy Hodson2Birgit Sattler3Morten Schostag4Lars H Hansen5Carsten S Jacobsen6Roland Psenner7Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) , Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Geography, University of Sheffield , Sheffield, UK; Department of Arctic Geology, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) , Longyearbyen, NorwayInstitute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) , Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Biology, University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) , Copenhagen, Denmark; Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen, DenmarkInstitute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck , Innsbruck, AustriaThe aggregation of surface debris particles on melting glaciers into larger units (cryoconite) provides microenvironments for various microorganisms and metabolic processes. Here we investigate the microbial community on the surface of Aldegondabreen, a valley glacier in Svalbard which is supplied with carbon and nutrients from different sources across its surface, including colonies of seabirds. We used a combination of geochemical analysis (of surface debris, ice and meltwater), quantitative polymerase chain reactions (targeting the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid and amoA genes), pyrosequencing and multivariate statistical analysis to suggest possible factors driving the ecology of prokaryotic microbes on the surface of Aldegondabreen and their potential role in nitrogen cycling. The combination of high nutrient input with subsidy from the bird colonies, supraglacial meltwater flow and the presence of fine, clay-like particles supports the formation of centimetre-scale cryoconite aggregates in some areas of the glacier surface. We show that a diverse microbial community is present, dominated by the cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, that are well-known in supraglacial environments. Importantly, ammonia-oxidizing archaea were detected in the aggregates for the first time on an Arctic glacier.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044glaciercryoconitemicrobial diversitynitrogenammonia oxidationSvalbard |
| spellingShingle | Jakub D Zarsky Marek Stibal Andy Hodson Birgit Sattler Morten Schostag Lars H Hansen Carsten S Jacobsen Roland Psenner Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea Environmental Research Letters glacier cryoconite microbial diversity nitrogen ammonia oxidation Svalbard |
| title | Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
| title_full | Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
| title_fullStr | Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
| title_short | Large cryoconite aggregates on a Svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia-oxidizing archaea |
| title_sort | large cryoconite aggregates on a svalbard glacier support a diverse microbial community including ammonia oxidizing archaea |
| topic | glacier cryoconite microbial diversity nitrogen ammonia oxidation Svalbard |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044 |
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