‘Remote aquatic ecosystems as sensors of global change and models for identifying patterns of microbial biodiversity: the role of atmospheric aerosols’

Antonio Camacho González, Antonio Picazo Mozo, Antonio Quesada de Corral, Carlos Rochera Cordellat, Eduardo Fernández Valiente, Elvira María Pulido Manuel de Villena, Emilio Ortega Casamayor, Francisco José Olmo Reyes, Horacio Ernesto Zagarese, Isabel Reche Cañabete, María del Carmen Diéguez, Rafael Morales Baquero, Ruben Sommaruga, Warwick F. Vincent, Wolfang Petz.

Climate change is causing an increase in the quantity of atmospheric aerosols with their origin in arid ground, particularly the Sahara desert and surrounding areas, which are transported over long distances. The substances mobilised are particles, inorganic and organic nutrients, pollutants and potentially viable microorganisms. We know that the deposition of these aerosols fertilises oligotrophic aquatic ecosystems, but the colonising capacity of air-transported microorganisms is practically unknown. The deposition, viability and expansion of invading microorganisms may have repercussions on autochthonous lacustrine biodiversity, especially in remote lakes of great ecological value.

The project will use aquatic ecosystems in remote areas of the planet (Arctic, Antarctic, Patagonia and high montane) as sensors of global change and models for identifying microbial diversity patterns. It will also look at the impact of atmospheric aerosol depositions on the native microbiota and the biogeochemistry of these ecosystems. This information is of vital importance for understanding the connection between distant ecosystems and for the global management of environmental policies.