The microbial mats in the Antarctic Dry Valley freshwater streams host a myriad of cyanobacteria, algae, and microscopic animals whose ecosystem-level interactions are not fully understood. Previous research investigating this ecosystem’s food web has not considered the role of tardigrades as grazers. In the present study, we sampled four types of microbial mats– red, orange, black and green– across eight separate streams in Taylor Valley. All animals were extracted from each mat and their relative abundance per sample were counted. A single morphospecies of tardigrade was identified and individuals were isolated and externally sterilized to perform a metagenomic analysis of their gut contents. This data is compared to the relative abundances and is used in a discussion to reevaluate the role of tardigrades in stream ecosystems where their influence as top-down controllers has not been previously considered.
Graduate student Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, CU Boulder