McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER
Published on McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER (http://gar.lternet.edu)

Home > Algal Abundances in Reactivated Channel

Summary

Abstract: 

As part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, water was diverted to a relict stream channel in order to reactivate the streamflow. The purpose of this experiment was to quantify the time scales of response to the arrival of water after many years of dessication. This table contains data showing the percent of total biomass (abundance) represented by algal type (brown, red, orange or green), phylum, species and morphotype for the Relict Channel in the Fryxell basin.

Date Range: 

January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2000
Dataset(s)

Variables (click to expand): 

Dataset code
  • Label:
  • Definition: Code representing Relict Channel experiment locations dataset
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
LOCATION_CODE
  • Label: Location Code
  • Definition: Location code / name
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
DATE_TIME
  • Label: Date
  • Definition: Date of sample
  • Type: Date/time
  • Date format: mm/dd/yyyy
  • Missing values: None specified
ALGAE_TYPE
  • Label: Algal Type
  • Definition: Type of algae speciesis associated with (red, brown, green or orange)
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
Replicate
  • Label: Replicate#
  • Definition: Replication number of sample
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
Phylum
  • Label:
  • Definition: Algal phylum
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
Species
  • Label:
  • Definition: Algal species
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
Morphotype
  • Label:
  • Definition: Morphotype of species
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified
Abundance
  • Label:
  • Definition: Percent of total biomass represented by algae type, phylum,species, morphotype
  • Type: Physical quantity
  • Unit: dimensionless
  • Maximum: Not specified
  • Minimum: Not specified
  • Precision: Not specified
  • Missing values: None specified
File name
  • Label:
  • Definition: Original file name in which this information was submitted
  • Type: Nominal
  • Missing values: None specified

File: 

algaerlc.csv [1] (16.84 KB)

...or query the dataset by variables and dates of interest:

[2]

Short name: 

algaerlc.dat

Dataset ID: 

28
People

Principal Investigator(s): 

Diane McKnight [3]

Contact: 

McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER [4]
Related

Related publications: 

Ecological processes in a cold desert ecosystem: the abundance and species distribution of algal mats in glacial meltwater streams in Taylor Valley [5]
Methodology

Methods: 

Within each transect, algal mats were visually identified as either orange, red, black, or green. Not all types of algal mats were found within every transect. A maximum of five algal samples of each color were collected from each transect using a #13 cork borer (diameter = 17 mm, area = 227 square mm). Algal samples were preserved in 10% formalin forlaboratory identifications. Preserved algal samples were examined in the laboratory to determine species composition and relative abundance using a Nikon Diaphot phase contrast microscope. Samples were well mixed to attain an even (random) sampling of mat (some small "clumps" of algae were still present, but these did not affect the objectives of the study), and then subsamples of 2 ml were withdrawn. Each subsample was placed in a 2-ml settling chamber with a 26 mm diameter and examined at x400 magnification. To get a representative count of relative species abundance, seven random fields (a total of 0.44 square mm) needed to be examined per subsample. Within each field, algae were identified to genus and species where possible (excluding diatoms, which were counted but not identified.) Percent cover was determined in each field by measuring the length and width of all specimens using an ocular micrometer. Cell "depth" was also measured in order to estimate biovolume. All seven fields were then tallied, and the percentage of the total algal biomass was determined for each taxa. Taxonomic identifications were primarily based on the classical Antarctic literature.

Maintenance: 

Data from this table was initially included in the raw data files specified under the variable for 'file name'. These are Microsoft Excel version 6.0 files and can be found in the McMurdo LTER data manager's home directory on INSTAAR's Unix system. Once submitted to INSTAAR, the data manager combined all of the Relict Channel files that included variables for "abundance", and removed any variables that had no direct influence on the total biomass (abundance) of a given algal type, phylum, species, and morphotype. The resulting file is represented in the "algaerlc.dat" file used on the web page. In 2014, metadata was enhance during the adoption of the Drupal Ecological Information Management System (Inigo San Gil)

Additional information: 

Further descriptions of the morphotypes in this file can be found in the 'Algal Species, Morphotype Descriptions' table

Categories

Research Section: 

  • Streams [6]
  • Experiments [7]

Core Areas: 

  • populations [8]

MCM Keywords: 

  • abundance [9]
  • algae [10]
  • morphotype [11]
  • phylum [12]
  • stream [13]
LTER Network
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Grant #OPP-1637708 for Long Term Ecological Research. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Source URL: http://gar.lternet.edu/content/algal-abundances-reactivated-channel

Links
[1] http://gar.lternet.edu/file/3412/download?token=jLq9MylpLR0bo6jiKd6cJcqfESQBX_sY8WKuM8CfU74
[2] http://gar.lternet.edu/node/2838/data
[3] http://gar.lternet.edu/people/diane-mcknight
[4] http://gar.lternet.edu/content/mcmurdo-dry-valleys-lter
[5] http://gar.lternet.edu/content/ecological-processes-cold-desert-ecosystem-abundance-and-species-distribution-algal-mats
[6] http://gar.lternet.edu/section/streams
[7] http://gar.lternet.edu/section/experiments
[8] http://gar.lternet.edu/core-areas/populations
[9] http://gar.lternet.edu/station-keywords/abundance
[10] http://gar.lternet.edu/station-keywords/algae
[11] http://gar.lternet.edu/station-keywords/morphotype
[12] http://gar.lternet.edu/station-keywords/phylum
[13] http://gar.lternet.edu/station-keywords/stream