Geographical variability of bacterial communities of cryoconite holes of Andean glaciers

AbstractCryoconite holes, ponds full of melting water with a sediment on the bottom, are hotspot of biodiversity of glacier surface. They host a metabolically active bacterial community that is involved in different dynamics concerning glacier ecosystems. Indeed, they are responsible of organic matter production and with other microorganisms establish a real microecosystem. Cryoconite holes have been described in different areas of the world (e.g., Arctic, Antarctic, Alps, Himalaya), and with this study we will provide the first description of bacterial communities of cryoconite holes of the Andes in South America. We collected samples on three high elevation glaciers of the Andes (Iver, Iver East and Morado glaciers) and two Patagonian glaciers located at sea level (Exploradores glacier and Perito Moreno). Results show that the most abundant orders are Burkholderiales, Cytophagales, Sphingobacteriales, Actinomycetales, Pseudomonadales, Rhodospiarillales, Rhizobiales, Sphingomonadales and Bacteroidales, which have been reported on glaciers of other areas of the world, Bacterial communities change from one glacier to another and both water pH and O2 concentration affect bacterial communities composition.

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Geographical Variability of Bacterial Communities of Cryoconite Holes of Andean Glaciers

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1160088/v1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Pittino ◽

Roberto Ambrosini ◽

Michael Seeger ◽

Roberto Sergio Azzoni ◽

Guglielmina Diolaiuti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Communities ◽

Bacterial Community Composition ◽

Extreme Environments ◽

High Elevation ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

The World ◽

Water Ph ◽

Andean Glaciers ◽

Patagonian Andes

Abstract Cryoconite holes, ponds full of melting water with a sediment on the bottom, are hotspots of biodiversity on glacier surface and host dynamic micro-ecosystems on these extreme environments. They have been extensively investigated in different areas of the world (e.g., Arctic, Antarctic, Alps, and Himalaya), but no study so far has described the bacterial communities of the glaciers in the Andes, the world longest mountain range. In this study, we start filling this gap of knowledge and describe the bacterial communities of Southern Andes in three small (< 2 km2) high elevation (< 4200 m a.s.l.) glaciers of Central Andes (Iver, East Iver and Morado glaciers) and two large (> 85 km2) glaciers in Patagonian Andes (Exploradores and Perito Moreno glaciers) whose ablation tongues reach low altitude (< 300 m a.s.l). Results show that the bacterial communities were generally similar to those observed in the cryoconite holes of other continents. Indeed, the most abundant orders were Burkholderiales, Cytophagales, Sphingobacteriales, Actinomycetales, Pseudomonadales, Rhodospiarillales, Rhizobiales, Sphingomonadales and Bacteroidales. However, the bacterial communities differed between glaciers and both water pH and O2 concentration influenced the bacterial community composition.

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GLOBAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL CONTROLS ON ORGANIC MATTER PRODUCTION AND PRESERVATION: EVIDENCE FROM THE EAGLE FORD, MAVERICK BASIN, TX, USA

10.1130/abs/2017sc-289342 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

James Eldrett ◽

◽

Steve Bergman ◽

Daniel Minisini

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Eagle Ford ◽

Organic Matter Production ◽

Matter Production

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Episodic construction of the early Andean Cordillera unravelled by zircon petrochronology

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-25232-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

José Joaquín Jara ◽

Fernando Barra ◽

Martin Reich ◽

Mathieu Leisen ◽

Rurik Romero ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Continental Lithosphere ◽

Complex Interplay ◽

Continental Arcs ◽

The Andes ◽

Andean Cordillera ◽

Continental Arc ◽

The World ◽

Oceanic Plates ◽

Orogenic Belts ◽

Continental Growth

AbstractThe subduction of oceanic plates beneath continental lithosphere is responsible for continental growth and recycling of oceanic crust, promoting the formation of Cordilleran arcs. However, the processes that control the evolution of these Cordilleran orogenic belts, particularly during their early stages of formation, have not been fully investigated. Here we use a multi-proxy geochemical approach, based on zircon petrochronology and whole-rock analyses, to assess the early evolution of the Andes, one of the most remarkable continental arcs in the world. Our results show that magmatism in the early Andean Cordillera occurred over a period of ~120 million years with six distinct plutonic episodes between 215 and 94 Ma. Each episode is the result of a complex interplay between mantle, crust, slab and sediment contributions that can be traced using zircon chemistry. Overall, the magmatism evolved in response to changes in the tectonic configuration, from transtensional/extensional conditions (215–145 Ma) to a transtensional regime (138–94 Ma). We conclude that an external (tectonic) forcing model with mantle-derived inputs is responsible for the episodic plutonism in this extensional continental arc. This study highlights the use of zircon petrochronology in assessing the multimillion-year crustal scale evolution of Cordilleran arcs.

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Children of Heaven

USURJ University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal ◽

10.32396/usurj.v5i2.410 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Olenka Kawchuk

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

South America ◽

Geographic Origin ◽

High Elevation ◽

Human Sacrifice ◽

Inca Empire ◽

Pathological Conditions ◽

The World ◽

The Subject ◽

Ritual Process

Ruling over western South America for nearly 100 years, the Inca Empire was one of many global cultures that practiced human sacrifice, though few other rituals of human sacrifice are as captivating as the Inca child sacrifice of capacocha. Capacocha children were chosen to be representatives of the Inca people in the afterlife. As such, they were afforded an elevated position in society before their death. Following their selection, children would undergo a year-long pilgrimage terminating at a mountain top shrine where they would be killed. As a result of the low temperature and oxygen levels present at such a high elevation, the bodies of capacocha children were protected against decomposition, creating some of the best-preserved natural mummies in the world. These mummies have been the subject of numerous bioarchaeological analyses to determine their age, sex, geographic origin, pathological conditions, diet, and cause of death. Beyond these, however, the mummies present a unique opportunity to study how the capacocha ritual process — including the sudden ascension in status — manifested itself on the children's bodies. This paper aims to review the bioarchaeological data garnered from the mummies in order to reconstruct the experience of a child chosen for capacocha. Results suggest higher variability between children selected for capacocha than was originally outlined by Spanish chroniclers.

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From the Andes to the desert: First overview of the bacterial community in the Rimac river, the main source of water for Lima, Peru

10.1101/2020.08.16.252965 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Pedro E. Romero ◽

Erika Calla-Quispe ◽

Camila Castillo-Vilcahuaman ◽

Mateo Yokoo ◽

Hammerly Lino Fuentes-Rivera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metropolitan Area ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Geographical Location ◽

Microbiological Quality ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Urban Sewage ◽

16S Rrna Amplicon Sequencing ◽

The Andes ◽

Metabolic Functions ◽

Quality Assessments

AbstractBackgroundThe Rimac river is the main source of water for Lima, Peru’s capital megacity. The river is constantly affected by different types of contamination including mine tailings in the Andes and urban sewage in the metropolitan area. We aim to produce the first characterization of bacterial communities in the Rimac river using a 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing approach which would be useful to identify bacterial diversity and potential understudied pathogens.ResultsWe report a higher diversity in bacterial communities from the Upper and, especially, Middle Rimac compared to the Lower Rimac (Metropolitan zone). Samples were generally grouped according to their geographical location. Bacterial classes Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, Campylobacteria, Fusobacteriia, and Gammaproteobacteria were the most frequent along the river. Arcobacter cryaerophilus (Campylobacteria) was the most frequent species in the Lower Rimac while Flavobacterium succinicans (Bacteroidia) and Hypnocyclicus (Fusobacteriia) were the most predominant in the Upper Rimac. Predicted metabolic functions in the microbiota include bacterial motility, quorum sensing and xenobiotics metabolism. Additional metabolomic analyses showed the presence natural flavonoids and antibiotics in the Upper Rimac, and herbicides in the Lower Rimac.ConclusionsThe dominance in the Metropolitan area of Arcobacter cryaerophilus, an emergent pathogen associated with fecal contamination and antibiotic multiresistance, but that is not usually reported in traditional microbiological quality assessments, highlights the necessity to apply next-generation sequencing tools to improve pathogen surveillance. We believe that our study will encourage the integration of omics sciences in Peru and its application on current environmental and public health issues.

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