Evaluation of the sampling methods applied to phycoperiphyton studies in the Ratones River estuary, Brazil

The marine waters around the South Shetland Islands are paramount in the primary production of this Antarctic ecosystem. With the increasing effects of climate change and the annual retreat of the ice shelf, the importance of macroalgae and their diatom epiphytes in primary production also increases. The relationships and interactions between these organisms have scarcely been studied in Antarctica, and even less in the volcanic ecosystem of Deception Island, which can be seen as a natural proxy of climate change in Antarctica because of its vulcanism, and the open marine system of Livingston Island. In this study we investigated the composition of the diatom communities in the context of their macroalgal hosts and different environmental factors. We used a non-acidic method for diatom digestion, followed by slidescanning and diatom identification by manual annotation through a web-browser-based image annotation platform. Epiphytic diatom species richness was higher on Deception Island as a whole, whereas individual macroalgal specimens harboured richer diatom assemblages on Livingston Island. We hypothesize this a possible result of a higher diversity of ecological niches in the unique volcanic environment of Deception Island. Overall, our study revealed higher species richness and diversity than previous studies of macroalgae-inhabiting diatoms in Antarctica, which could however be the result of the different preparation methodologies used in the different studies, rather than an indication of a higher species richness on Deception Island and Livingston Island than other Antarctic localities.

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“…The algae were also immersed and the samples were centrifuged [e.g. 23 ]. After this, the macroalgal part was extracted again for further use.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epiphytic diatom community structure and richness is determined by macroalgal host and location in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica)

et al. 2021

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“…Periphytic algae or phycoperiphyton, according to Foerster and Schlichting (1965), Vettorato et al (2010), Lange et al (2011), Wu et al (2009), are assemblages of organism that are responsible for primary production in lotic aquatic ecosystems and are a direct trophic source for many macroinvertebrates and fish. They are the main autochthonous source of energy in some tropical forested headwater streams (Mantel et al, 2004;Lau et al, 2008Lau et al, , 2009Li and Dudgeon, 2008) and are more important than allochthonous organic matter for consumers in this system, mainly during the dry season.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the hydrological cycle on the phycoperiphyton assemblage in an Andean foothill stream in Colombia

et al. 2016

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Growth form analysis of epiphytic diatom communities of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

et al. 2012

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Evaluation of the sampling methods applied to phycoperiphyton studies in the Ratones River estuary, Brazil

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

Epiphytic diatom community structure and richness is determined by macroalgal host and location in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica)

Epiphytic diatom community structure and richness is determined by macroalgal host and location in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica)

Effects of the hydrological cycle on the phycoperiphyton assemblage in an Andean foothill stream in Colombia

Growth form analysis of epiphytic diatom communities of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

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