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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental research letters 2013-09, Vol.8 (3), p.35044-11
Main Authors: Zarsky, Jakub D, Stibal, Marek, Hodson, Andy, Sattler, Birgit, Schostag, Morten, Hansen, Lars H, Jacobsen, Carsten S, Psenner, Roland
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actinobacteria
Aggregates
Ammonia
ammonia oxidation
Aquatic birds
Archaea
Colonies
cryoconite
Cyanobacteria
Debris
Glacial drift
glacier
Glaciers
Meltwater
microbial diversity
Microenvironments
Microorganisms
Multivariate statistical analysis
nitrogen
Nitrogen cycle
Nutrients
Oxidation
Polymerase chain reaction
Proteobacteria
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
Statistical analysis
Svalbard
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1748-9326
1748-9326
DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035044