Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep;19(5):885-97.
doi: 10.1007/s00792-015-0764-z. Epub 2015 Jun 24.

Microbial community development on the surface of Hans and Werenskiold Glaciers (Svalbard, Arctic): a comparison

Jakub Grzesiak  1 , Dorota Górniak, Aleksander Świątecki, Tamara Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk, Katarzyna Szatraj, Marek K Zdanowski
Affiliations

Microbial community development on the surface of Hans and Werenskiold Glaciers (Svalbard, Arctic): a comparison

Jakub Grzesiak et al. Extremophiles. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Surface ice and cryoconite holes of two types of polythermal Svalbard Glaciers (Hans Glacier--grounded tidewater glacier and Werenskiold Glacier-land-based valley glacier) were investigated in terms of chemical composition, microbial abundance and diversity. Gathered data served to describe supraglacial habitats and to compare microbe-environment interactions on those different type glaciers. Hans Glacier samples displayed elevated nutrient levels (DOC, nitrogen and seston) compared to Werenskiold Glacier. Adjacent tundra formations, bird nesting sites and marine aerosol were candidates for allochtonic enrichment sources. Microbial numbers were comparable on both glaciers, with surface ice containing cells in the range of 10(4) mL(-1) and cryoconite sediment 10(8) g(-1) dry weight. Denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis band-based clustering revealed differences between glaciers in terms of dominant bacterial taxa structure. Microbial community on Werenskiold Glacier benefited from the snow-released substances. On Hans Glacier, this effect was not as pronounced, affecting mainly the photoautotrophs. Over-fertilization of Hans Glacier surface was proposed as the major factor, desensitizing the microbial community to the snow melt event. Nitrogen emerged as a limiting factor in surface ice habitats, especially to Eukaryotic algae.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Location of sampling points on Hans and Werenskiold Glacier surface
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Well color development calculated from Omnilog Arbitrary Unit values of substrate utilization on Biolog EcoPlates by glacial microbial communities. Substrates were divided into five categories: carbohydrates (n = 10), polymers (n = 4), carboxylic and acetic acids (n = 9), amino acids (n = 6), amines/amides (n = 2). HI—Hans Glacier surface ice samples (n = 5), WI—Werenskiold Glacier surface ice samples (n = 5), HC—Hans Glacier cryoconite samples (n = 4), WC—Werenskiold Glacier cryoconite samples (n = 5)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Principal component analysis clustering of sampling points based on physico-chemical (b, d) and microbiological data (a, c). WI—Werenskiold Glacier surface ice samples, HC—Hans Glacier cryoconite samples, WC—Werenskiold Glacier cryoconite samples
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Principal component analysis of bacterial taxonomic structure (based on OTUs relations) in surface ice (black squares) and cryoconite samples (circles). HI—Hans Glacier surface ice samples, WI—Werenskiold Glacier surface ice samples, HC—Hans Glacier cryoconite samples, WC—Werenskiold Glacier cryoconite samples, 1–35—DGGE band numbers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Amato P, Hennebelle R, Magand O, Sancelme M, Delort AM, Barbante C, Boutron C, Ferrari C. Bacterial characterisation of the snow cover at Spitsbergen, Svalbard. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2007;59:255–264. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00198.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anesio AM, Laybourn-Parry J. Glaciers and ice sheets as a biome. Trends Ecol. 2012;4:219–225. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.09.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anesio AM, Hodson AJ, Fritz A, Psenner R, Sattler B. High microbial activity on glaciers: importance to the global carbon cycle. Glob Change Biol. 2009;15:955–960. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01758.x. - DOI
    1. Anesio AM, Sattler B, Foreman C, Telling J, Hodson A, Tranter M, Psenner R. Carbon fluxes through bacterial communities on glacier surfaces. Ann Glaciol. 2010;56:32–40. doi: 10.3189/172756411795932092. - DOI
    1. Bardgett RD, Richter A, Bol R, Garnett MH, Bäumler R, Xu X, Lopez-Capel E, Manning DAC, Hobbs PJ, Hartley IR, Wanek W. Heterotrophic microbial communities use ancient carbon following glacial retreat. Biol Lett. 2007;3:487–490. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0242. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources