Project Title

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

Summary

Event Number:
C-509-M
NSF / OPP Award 2224760

Program Director:
Dr. William Ambrose

ASC POC/Implementer:
Ryan Steiner / Jenny Cunningham

Principal Investigator(s)

Dr. Lydia Helen Zeglin
lzeglin@ksu.edu
Manhattan, Kansas

Location

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

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

Three participants will deploy from the latter half of December 2026 to early February 2027. The team will primarily base out of F6 camp to sample long-term established algal transects, sample newer transects, deploy temporary nutrient releasing substrate experiments, and maintain a modified stream flow experiment at various locations in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. As many sites as possible will be accessed on foot, with others accessed by helicopter day trip. The team may make occasional stays at New Harbor camp to complete Wales Stream sampling in collaboration with the C-506-M project. Following field work, participants will work at the Albert P. Crary Science and Engineering Center to process and analyze samples.

Deploying Team Members