Project Title

LTER: MCM6: The Roles of Legacy and Ecological Connectivity in a Polar Desert Ecosystem

Summary

Event Number:
C-504-M
NSF / OPP Award 2224760

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Melisa Antonia Diaz
diaz.237@osu.edu
Ohio State University
Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center
Columbus, Ohio

Project Web Site:
https://mcm.lternet.edu/

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: McMurdo Dry Valleys

Description

In this iteration of the McMurdo Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM-LTER) project (MCM6), the team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (e.g., geological legacies, extreme seasonality, contemporary climate change) and driven by microbial organisms. The team hypothesizes that the structure and functioning of the McMurdo Dry Valleys ecosystem depends on legacies and the contemporary frequency, duration, and magnitude of ecological connectivity. This hypothesis will be tested with new and continuing monitoring, experiments, and analyses of long-term datasets to examine (1) the stability of these ecosystems as reflected by sentinel taxa; (2) the relationship between ecological legacies and ecosystem resilience; (3) the importance of material carryover during periods of low connectivity to maintaining biological activity and community stability; and (4) how changes in disturbance dynamics disrupt ecological cycles through the polar night. Tests of these hypotheses will occur in field and modeling activities using new and existing long-term datasets.

Field Season Overview

Four participants will deploy on the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) surface processes team from mid-December to mid-January, based primarily out of F6 camp in Taylor Valley with occasional stays at New Harbor and trips back to Crary Lab to process samples. The team will collect aeolian, stream, and other sediments and shallow ice cores from Taylor Valley glaciers. The team will also measure nutrient concentrations in streams and lakes and use an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) to map and characterize hydrologically active areas at several locations in the Dry Valleys. Following field work, one participant will remain on station into mid-February to process samples.

Deploying Team Members