Paleoclimate and Biodiversity in the Arctic
Author Information
Author(s): Stoeck Thorsten, Kasper Jennifer, Bunge John, Leslin Chesley, Ilyin Valya, Epstein Slava
Primary Institution: Department of Ecology, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Hypothesis
Present-day hot and cold environments should contain, respectively, the largest and the smallest diversity of ancestral lineages of microbial eukaryotes.
Conclusion
The Arctic protistan community is unexpectedly rich in species and ancestral lineages, suggesting that cold environments may have persisted through warm periods, contrary to some current views.
Supporting Evidence
- The Arctic protistan community emerged as one of the richest in species to date.
- Cold environments may have been important refuges for microbial diversity throughout Earth's history.
- High diversity of apicomplexans and chytrids was found in the Arctic, suggesting a unique evolutionary history.
Takeaway
Scientists studied tiny living things in the Arctic and found that even in cold places, there are lots of different kinds of them, which is surprising!
Methodology
Analyzed 18S rRNA gene sequences from sediment samples in the Arctic and compared them with existing data from other environments.
Potential Biases
Potential biases from allochthonous species and PCR primer selection may affect richness estimates.
Limitations
Different methodologies were used across studies, which may affect comparability of richness estimates.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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