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Aquatic Fungi of the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Sheldon, Parnell Jordan
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8099-0483
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1641480014735362

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Science, Miami University, Microbiology.
Ecosystems contain a variety of components that each need to be understood to get a complete picture of environmental change. Recently, fungi have become a rising point of interest in aquatic communities, as they have been shown to play roles akin to their soil bound counterparts. Here we explore which fungi may survive in Antarctic lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys and what roles these organisms may be performing in this unique ecosystem. We found that early-diverging lineage fungi, such as Cryptomycota, were common in the waters, and performing parasitic roles. Other fungal phyla, such as Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, were also found in higher abundance than previously predicted. In network analysis these unexpected fungi were shown to correlate with several chlorophyll producing organisms. Cryptomycota was found to correlate more with heterotrophic protists. Seasonal analysis showed that the fungal community was dynamic throughout the year, with the winter being heavily dominated by Cryptomycota. Our data suggests that fungi are dynamic players in the McMurdo Dry Valley ecosystem and are participating in several different roles.
Rachael Morgan-Kiss (Advisor)
Annette Bollmann (Committee Member)
75 p.
Biology; Ecology; Microbiology
Fungi; Aquatic Fungi; Cryptomycota; Chytridiomycota; Antarctica; McMurdo Dry Valleys; Lakes: Polar Ecosystem

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sheldon, P. J. (2022). Aquatic Fungi of the McMurdo Dry Valleys [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1641480014735362

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sheldon, Parnell. Aquatic Fungi of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. 2022. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1641480014735362.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sheldon, Parnell. "Aquatic Fungi of the McMurdo Dry Valleys." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1641480014735362

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1641480014735362
385
© 2022, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Aquatic Fungi of the McMurdo Dry Valleys by Parnell Jordan Sheldon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.
Release 3.2.12