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Reid RP, Oehlert AM, Suosaari EP, Demergasso C, Chong G, Escudero LV, Piggot AM, Lascu I, Palma AT. Electrical conductivity as a driver of biological and geological spatial heterogeneity in the Puquios, Salar de Llamara, Atacama Desert, Chile. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12769. [PMID: 34140571 PMCID: PMC8211675 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92105-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- R P Reid
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA.
- Bahamas Marine EcoCentre, Miami, FL, 33156, USA.
| | - A M Oehlert
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA
- Bahamas Marine EcoCentre, Miami, FL, 33156, USA
| | - E P Suosaari
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA
- Bahamas Marine EcoCentre, Miami, FL, 33156, USA
- Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 20560, USA
| | - C Demergasso
- Centro de Biotecnología , Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - G Chong
- Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas , Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - L V Escudero
- Centro de Biotecnología , Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - A M Piggot
- Bahamas Marine EcoCentre, Miami, FL, 33156, USA
- AP Research Inc., Miami, FL, 33157, USA
| | - I Lascu
- Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 20560, USA
| | - A T Palma
- FisioAqua, Las Condes , 7550024, Santiago, Chile
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