Project Title

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

Summary

Event Number:
C-508-M
NSF / OPP Award 2224760

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Rachael Morgan-Kiss
morganr2@miamioh.edu
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio

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

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: Lake Fryxell, Bonney Narrows

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

Five participants will work on C-508-M project activities this season from mid-November to mid-December 2026. The team will primarily focus on dives and remotely operated underwater-vehicle operations in Lake Fryxell. Three participants will make 20-30 dives under the lake ice to carry out repeated observations of microbial mat distribution and activity, collect samples, and retrieve or redeploy instrumentation. The team will also spend a short amount of time at Lake Bonney camp to dive and recover instrumentation and sample sediments at the Bonney Narrows in collaboration with the C-511 project. Upon completing C-508-M work, two participants will transition to work with the G-080-M project.

Deploying Team Members