Project Title

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

Summary

Event Number:
C-507-M
NSF / OPP Award 2224760

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Byron J Adams
bjadams@byu.edu
Brigham Young University
College of Life Sciences
Provo, Utah

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: McMurdo Dry Valleys, Lake Fryxell

Description

In this iteration of the McMurdo Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM-LTER) project (MCM6), the science team will test ecological connectivity and stability theory in a system subject to strong physical drivers (e.g., geological legacies, extreme seasonality) 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.

Field Season Overview

Eight participants will deploy on the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) soils team from mid-December 2026 to early February 2027. The team will primarily base out of McMurdo Station and make helicopter-supported day trips to locations throughout the Dry Valleys. It will also spend a week based out of Fryxell Camp. Activities will include sampling soils, conducting various in situ soil experiments, and monitoring and maintaining soil meteorological stations. The team will analyze and prepare collected soil samples at the Albert P. Crary Science and Engineering Center. One team member will use an uncrewed aerial system and microscope photography to produce outreach materials.

Deploying Team Members