《Limnology and ecology of lakes along the Sya Coast East Antarctica》.pdfVIP

•Review • Advances in Polar Science doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2014.1.00075 June 2014 Vol. 25 No. 2: 75-91 Limnology and ecology of lakes along the Sôya Coast, East Antarctica Sakae Kudoh1, 2* Yukiko Tanabe3 1 National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan; 2 Department of Polar Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (Sokendai), 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan; 3 Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, 1-6-1 Nishi Waseda, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan Received 26 September 2013; accepted 8 April 2014 2 Abstract The Sôya Coast in East Antarctica has several ice-free areas where many small (1 km ) and shallow (50 m depth) glacial lakes display various limnological features. Geological, biological, and ecological studies conducted by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions since 1957 are reviewed herein. Most of the lakes along the coast are oligotrophic; however, water quality is highly variable depending on differences in lake morphology and history. Geophysical and paleolimnological studies suggest that most of the lakes appeared after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and have since maintained a lacustrine condition. The ubiquitous occurrence of benthic microbial assemblages with low phytoplankton biomasses is a common feature of other Antarctic lakes. However, diverse benthic assemblages such as moss pillars and large pinnacle microbial structures are found in the lake basins. Frequent and continuous limnological studies have reveal