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DATA
Physical, Chemical and
Biological Lake Data View vertical profile data for Lakes Bonney and Fryxell. For further data on the physical,
chemical and biological
Yearly Data Collection
Year 1
Data Collection (2003-2004)
Novel Organisms
The study of
novel organisms is an important aspect
of research in the Dry Valleys Lakes Microbial Observatory. A
recent Scientific American article by Gibbs (2001) estimated
that there are over one million species of Bacteria and
Archaea. Of these, only about 4,000 have been described and
only about half of the forty or so identified phyla have cultured
representatives. Regardless of the true number of Bacteria
and Archaea on Earth, current scientific opinion holds that
only a small percentage have been isolated and described. The Dry
Valley Lakes Microbial Observatory aims to greatly expand systematic
descriptions of two groups of organisms that have historically been
under-sampled: (i) psychrophilic/psychrotolerant prokaryotes, and
(ii) extreme oligotrophs.
Phylogenetics
Phylogenetics
is a major focus of study in the Dry Valley Lakes Microbial
Observatory. Through work on molecular phylogeny, we aim to gain
significant insight into the structure of dry valley lake
prokaryotic communities, and to yield the first catalog of
prokaryotic diversity from the southern most lakes on our planet
and the only lakes on Earth with permanent ice covers.
Physiology
Few data exist
on the
physiology or metabolic state of
prokaryotes in the dry valley lakes.
The Dry Valley Lakes Microbial
Observatory will approach this important question using isotopic
uptake experiments, exoenzyme production and cell viability as
measures of metabolic potential. Results from these experiments will
be integrated with other components of the Dry Valley Lakes
Microbial Observatory to allow for an assessment of the metabolic
robustness of prokaryotes from different physical and geochemical
regimes and their role(s) in effecting biogeochemical processes in
the lakes. |
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