Microstructural characterization of cyanobacterial mats from the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica.

Diversity within cyanobacterial mat communities in variable salinity meltwater ponds of McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica.

This study investigated the diversity of cyanobacterial mat communities of three meltwater ponds--Fresh, Orange and Salt Ponds, south of Bratina Island, McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. A combined morphological and genetic approach using clone libraries was used to investigate the influence of salinity on cyanobacterial diversity within these ecosystems without prior cultivation or isolation of c...

Toxin production in cyanobacterial mats from ponds on the McMurdo ice shelf, Antarctica.

Cyanobacteria are known to produce hepatotoxic substances, the functional and ecological role of these toxins, however, remains largely unclear. Toxic properties of cyanobacteria collected in Antarctica were investigated to determine whether toxin-producing species can also be found under these environmental conditions. Samples were collected from meltwater ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antar...

Calving and rifting on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica

On 2 March 2016, several small en échelon tabular icebergs calved from the seaward front of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, and a previously inactive rift widened and propagated by ∼3 km, ∼25% of its previous length, setting the stage for the future calving of a∼14 km iceberg. Within 24 h of these events, all remaining land-fast sea ice that had been stabilizing the ice shelf broke-up. The events were w...

Characterization of microcystin production in an Antarctic cyanobacterial mat community.

Cyanobacteria are well known for their production of non-ribosomal cyclic peptide toxins, including microcystin, in temperate and tropical regions, however, the production of these compounds in extremely cold environments is still largely unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the production of protein phosphatase inhibiting microcystins by Antarctic cyanobacteria. We have identified microcysti...

Background to the ANDRILL McMurdo Ice Shelf Project (Antarctica) and Initial Science Volume