Deep-water occurrence of the moss Bryum pseudotriquetrum in Radok Lake, Amery Oasis, East Antarctica

• Published in: Polar biology Vol. 29; no. 9; pp. 791 - 795
• Main Authors: WAGNER, Bernd, SEPPELT, Rod
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer 01.08.2006; Berlin Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Bryum pseudotriquetrum; Fresh water ecosystems; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Lakes; Mosses; Particular ecosystems; Synecology; Freshwater environment; Aquatic environment; East Antarctica; Vertical distribution; Lakes; Environmental factor; Bryophyta; Polar region; Deep water; Aquatic plant; Climatic zone; Depth
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-006-0116-7

Mosses form an important component of the flora in terrestrial and lacustrine ecosystems of Antarctica. Here we report the occurrence of mosses in Radok Lake, Amery Oasis, East Antarctica, which has a maximum water depth of c. 360 m and is presumed to be the deepest freshwater lake in Antarctica. Aquatic mosses, determined as Bryum pseudotriquetrum, were found at water depths of up to 81 m, growing on the sediment surface at different locations in the lake basin. This is the deepest record of living mosses in Antarctic lakes. The modern oligo- to ultra-oligotrophic hydrological characteristics of Radok Lake may be an indispensable precondition for the growth of the moss at these water depths.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]