Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile

Abstract Reputed to be the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert in the Central Andes of Northern Chile is an extreme environment with high UV radiation, wide temperature variation, and minimum precipitation. Scarce lagoons associated with salt flats (salars) in this desert are the surface...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	R. P. Reid, A. M. Oehlert, E. P. Suosaari, C. Demergasso, G. Chong, L. V. Escudero, A. M. Piggot, I. Lascu, A. T. Palma
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/549466dde0ab4d88872cbaa59496dc5d
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:549466dde0ab4d88872cbaa59496dc5d
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:549466dde0ab4d88872cbaa59496dc5d2021-12-02T17:40:46ZElectrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile10.1038/s41598-021-92105-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/549466dde0ab4d88872cbaa59496dc5d2021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92105-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Reputed to be the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert in the Central Andes of Northern Chile is an extreme environment with high UV radiation, wide temperature variation, and minimum precipitation. Scarce lagoons associated with salt flats (salars) in this desert are the surface expression of shallow groundwater; these ponds serve as refugia for life and often host microbial communities associated with evaporitic mineral deposition. Results based on multidisciplinary field campaigns and associated laboratory examination of samples collected from the Puquios of the Salar de Llamara in the Atacama Desert during austral summer provide unprecedented detail regarding the spatial heterogeneity of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of these salar environments. Four main lagoons (‘Puquios’) and more than 400 smaller ponds occur within an area less than 5 km2, and are characterized by high variability in electrical conductivity, benthic and planktonic biota, microbiota, lagoon bottom type, and style of mineral deposition. Results suggest that electrical conductivity is a driving force of system heterogeneity. Such spatial heterogeneity within the Puquios is likely to be expanded with temporal observations incorporating expected seasonal changes in electrical conductivity. The complexity of these Andean ecosystems may be key to their ability to persist in extreme environments at the edge of habitability.R. P. ReidA. M. OehlertE. P. SuosaariC. DemergassoG. ChongL. V. EscuderoA. M. PiggotI. LascuA. T. PalmaNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-18 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q R. P. Reid A. M. Oehlert E. P. Suosaari C. Demergasso G. Chong L. V. Escudero A. M. Piggot I. Lascu A. T. Palma Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile
description	Abstract Reputed to be the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert in the Central Andes of Northern Chile is an extreme environment with high UV radiation, wide temperature variation, and minimum precipitation. Scarce lagoons associated with salt flats (salars) in this desert are the surface expression of shallow groundwater; these ponds serve as refugia for life and often host microbial communities associated with evaporitic mineral deposition. Results based on multidisciplinary field campaigns and associated laboratory examination of samples collected from the Puquios of the Salar de Llamara in the Atacama Desert during austral summer provide unprecedented detail regarding the spatial heterogeneity of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of these salar environments. Four main lagoons (‘Puquios’) and more than 400 smaller ponds occur within an area less than 5 km2, and are characterized by high variability in electrical conductivity, benthic and planktonic biota, microbiota, lagoon bottom type, and style of mineral deposition. Results suggest that electrical conductivity is a driving force of system heterogeneity. Such spatial heterogeneity within the Puquios is likely to be expanded with temporal observations incorporating expected seasonal changes in electrical conductivity. The complexity of these Andean ecosystems may be key to their ability to persist in extreme environments at the edge of habitability.
format	article
author	R. P. Reid A. M. Oehlert E. P. Suosaari C. Demergasso G. Chong L. V. Escudero A. M. Piggot I. Lascu A. T. Palma
author_facet	R. P. Reid A. M. Oehlert E. P. Suosaari C. Demergasso G. Chong L. V. Escudero A. M. Piggot I. Lascu A. T. Palma
author_sort	R. P. Reid
title	Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile
title_short	Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile
title_full	Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile
title_fullStr	Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile
title_full_unstemmed	Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile
title_sort	electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the puquios, salar de llamara, atacama desert, chile
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/549466dde0ab4d88872cbaa59496dc5d
work_keys_str_mv	AT rpreid electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT amoehlert electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT epsuosaari electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT cdemergasso electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT gchong electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT lvescudero electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT ampiggot electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT ilascu electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile AT atpalma electricalconductivityasadriverofbiologicalandgeologicalspatialheterogeneityinthepuquiossalardellamaraatacamadesertchile
_version_	1718379762287640576

Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile

Ejemplares similares