Macroclimatic conditions as main drivers for symbiotic association patterns in lecideoid lichens along the Transantarctic Mountains, Ross Sea region, Antarctica.

ABSTRACT: Lecideoid lichens as dominant vegetation-forming organisms in the climatically harsh areas of the southern part of continental Antarctica show clear preferences in relation to environmental conditions (i.e. macroclimate). 306 lichen samples were included in the study, collected along the Ross Sea coast (78°S-85.5°S) at six climatically different sites. The species compositions as well as the associations of their two dominant symbiotic partners (myco- and photobiont) were set in context with environmental conditions along the latitudinal gradient. Diversity values were nonlinear with respect to latitude, with the highest alpha diversity in the milder areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (78°S) and the most southern areas (Durham Point, 85.5°S; Garden Spur, 84.5°S), and lowest in the especially

SUBMITTER: Wagner M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8648759 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature