TY - JOUR
T1 - Macroclimatic conditions as main drivers for symbiotic association patterns in lecideoid lichens along the Transantarctic Mountains, Ross Sea region, Antarctica
AU - Zacharias, Monika
AU - Brunauer, Georg Maria
AU - Bathke, Arne
AU - Cary, S Craig
AU - Fuchs, Roman
AU - Sancho, L.G.
AU - Türk, Roman
AU - Ruprecht, Ulrike Waltraut
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12/6
Y1 - 2021/12/6
N2 - Lecideoid lichens as dominant vegetation-forming organisms in the climatically harsh areas of the southern part of continental Antarctica show clear preferences in relation to environmental conditions (i.e. macroclimate). 306 lichen samples were included in the study, collected along the Ross Sea coast (78°S-85.5°S) at six climatically different sites. The species compositions as well as the associations of their two dominant symbiotic partners (myco- and photobiont) were set in context with environmental conditions along the latitudinal gradient. Diversity values were nonlinear with respect to latitude, with the highest alpha diversity in the milder areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (78°S) and the most southern areas (Durham Point, 85.5°S; Garden Spur, 84.5°S), and lowest in the especially arid and cold Darwin Area (~ 79.8°S). Furthermore, the specificity of mycobiont species towards their photobionts decreased under more severe climate conditions. The generalist lichen species Lecanora fuscobrunnea and Lecidea cancriformis were present in almost all habitats, but were dominant in climatically extreme areas. Carbonea vorticosa, Lecidella greenii and Rhizoplaca macleanii were confined to milder areas. In summary, the macroclimate is considered to be the main driver of species distribution, making certain species useful as bioindicators of climate conditions and, consequently, for assessing the consequences of climate change.
AB - Lecideoid lichens as dominant vegetation-forming organisms in the climatically harsh areas of the southern part of continental Antarctica show clear preferences in relation to environmental conditions (i.e. macroclimate). 306 lichen samples were included in the study, collected along the Ross Sea coast (78°S-85.5°S) at six climatically different sites. The species compositions as well as the associations of their two dominant symbiotic partners (myco- and photobiont) were set in context with environmental conditions along the latitudinal gradient. Diversity values were nonlinear with respect to latitude, with the highest alpha diversity in the milder areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (78°S) and the most southern areas (Durham Point, 85.5°S; Garden Spur, 84.5°S), and lowest in the especially arid and cold Darwin Area (~ 79.8°S). Furthermore, the specificity of mycobiont species towards their photobionts decreased under more severe climate conditions. The generalist lichen species Lecanora fuscobrunnea and Lecidea cancriformis were present in almost all habitats, but were dominant in climatically extreme areas. Carbonea vorticosa, Lecidella greenii and Rhizoplaca macleanii were confined to milder areas. In summary, the macroclimate is considered to be the main driver of species distribution, making certain species useful as bioindicators of climate conditions and, consequently, for assessing the consequences of climate change.
UR - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34873261/
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120871187&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/777d1a09-1ef9-3000-810b-5c36d8127192/
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-021-02940-6
DO - 10.1038/s41598-021-02940-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 34873261
VL - 11
SP - 23460
JO - Nature – Scientific Reports
JF - Nature – Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 23460
ER -