Friedmann, E. I. 1980. Endolithic microbial lives in hot and colddeserts. Origins of Lives, 10, 233-245.

Friedmann, E. I. In preparation. Endolithic microorganisms in theantarctic cold deserts: Lives under the surface of rocks in hostileenvironment.

Friedmann, E. I., and Ocampo, R. 1976. Endolithic blue-green algaein the dry valleys: Primary producers in the antarctic desertecosystem. Science, 193, 1247-1249.

Karl, D. M., and La Rock, P. A. 1975. Adenosine tnphosphatemeasurements in soil and marine sediments. Journal of the Fish-eries Research Board of Canada, 32, 599-607.

Ma, T. S., and Zuazaga, C., 1942. Micro-Kjeldahl determination ofnitrogen. Industr. Eng. Chem., 14, 280-282.

Seely, C. R., Duncan, M. J . , and Vidauer, W. E. 1972. Preparativeand analytical extraction of pigments from brown algae with di-methyl sulfoxide. Marine Biology, 12, 184-188.

Strickland, J. D. H., and Parsons, T. R. 1968. A practical handbook ofsea-water analysis. Ottawa: Fisheries Research Board of Canada.

Fertile stages of cryptoendolithiclichens in the dry valleys of

southern Victoria Land

E. IMRE FRIEDMANN

Department of Biological ScienceFlorida State University

Tallahassee, Florida 32306

JACOB GARTY

Department of BotanyUniversity of Tel-Aviv

Tel-Aviv, Israel

LuDGER KAPPEN

Botanical InstituteUniversity of Witrzburg

Wurzburg, Federal Republic of Germany

Limited information is available on the lichen flora of thedry valleys of southern Victoria Land, and references seemto indicate that lichens in this area are rare or absent (Dodge1973, Lindsay 1978, Llano 1959, Schofield and Ahmadjian1972). This is indeed the impression one obtains whensearching for lichens on rock surfaces. Only cryptoendo-lithic and chasmoendolithic' lichens, hidden under thesurface of rocks, are widespread in the mountain areas(Friedmann 1977, 1978). Cryptoendolithic lichens formmulticolored zones several millimeters wide under the sur-face of sandstone rocks. These lichens have an unusualorganization: The fungus (mycobiont) filaments do notform a coherent tissuelike structure (plectenchyma) butgrow freely in the airspaces between the particles of theporous rock substrate. Chasmoendolithic lichens, in turn,

According to the terminology proposed by Golubic, Friedmann,and Schneider (in press), cryptoendoliths live under the surface ofrocks in existing structural cavities and chasmoendoliths occupycracks and fissures, while euendoliths penetrate the rock by activeboring. Epiliths grow on the surface of rocks.

occur mostly in granitic rocks, growing under the weath-ered rock crust or in fine fissures, without a well-definedmorphology. In our earlier collections, both crypto- andchasmoendolithic lichen types were found in vegetative(nonfruiting) state with the exception of occasionally occur-ring conidia. Because the taxonomy of lichens is basedlargely on morphological characteristics of their sexualstructures, these endolithic types could not be identified.

During the 1979-80 field season, we found fruiting epi-lithic stages formed by cryptoendolithic and chasmo-endolithic lichens. These stages are very infrequent, andthey occur only in sheltered places where the local micro-climate seems to be particularly mild. Such is the situationat Linnaeus Terrace (77°36'S 161 °05'E, altitude 1,600 to1,650 meters) in the Asgard Range. Oliver Peak shields thearea from the predominant katabatic winds. The terraceslopes gently toward the north, and during the summer itis exposed to nearly continuous direct solar radiation. Ac-cording to our observations betwen 6 and 13 December1979, the terrace received 22 hours of sunshine on clear days(Kappen, Friedmann, and Garty in preparation). The flatsandstone tables on Linnaeus Terrace are heavily colonizedby cryptoendolithic lichens. Epilithic stages were foundoccasionally where the cryptoendolithic forms, exposedthrough the flaking off of the upper rock crust caused byexfoliating weathering, continue to grow on the surface(figure 1). The epilithic stages have areolate thalli (com-posed of small units, the areoles) with a plectenchymatousorganization, and they usually carry reproductive struc-tures such as apothecia and pycnidia.

Figure 1. Fertile epilithic stage of cryptoendolithic lichen,(Buellia sp.). Beacon sandstone, Linnaeus Terrace. X 1.5.

166 ANTARCTIC JOURNAL

Epilithic stages of chasmoendolithic lichens were foundsouthwest of Lake Vida (77°23'S 161 038'E, altitude 580 to600 meters) on a slope which, like Linnaeus Terrace, isexposed to the north and is protected from southern winds.Chasmoendolithic lichens growing here occasionally formepilithic thalli when they become exposed by the crum-bling of the weathering substrate. The areolate thalli haveapothecia and pycnidia.

On the basis of their reproductive structures, the epilithicstages of crypto- and chasmoendolithic lichens could beidentified tentatively as species of the genus Buellia, thelargest lichen genus on the Antarctic Continent (Dodge1973). For some of the specimens collected, this identi-fication has been confirmed by Mason E. Hale, Jr. (Smith-sonian Institution, Washington, D.C.).

The dark and nonporous Ferrar dolerite is generally nota suitable substrate for endolithic microbial colonization(Friedmann 1977). However, we found lichens on doleriteboulders both on Linnaeus Terrace and on the top of FingerMountain (77°45'S 160°41'E, altitude 1,880 meters). Theselichens grow in coarse fissures of rocks, about 10 to 15millimeters below the surface where they form small, areo-late, fertile thalli. Because the fissures are wide, the uppersurface of the thalli is exposed (figure 2) and, therefore, thisgrowth form may be regarded as an intermediate betweenthe chasmoendolithic and the epilithic types. The lichensalso apparently belong to the genus Buellia.

This work was supported by National Science Founda-tion grant DPI' 77-21858 and National Aeronautics andSpace Administration grant 7337 to E. I. Friedmann.

References

Dodge, W. W. 1973. Lichen flora of the Antarctic Continent and adja-cent islands. Canaan, N.H.: Phoenix Publishing.

Friedmann, E. I. 1977. Microorganisms in antarctic desert rocksfrom dry valleys and Dufek Massif. Antarctic Journal of the U.S.,12(4), 26-30.

Friedmann, E. I. 1978. Melting snow in the dry valleys is a sourceof water for endolithic microorganisms. Antarctic Journal of theU.S., 13(4), 162-163.

Golubjc, S., Friedmann, E. I., and Schneider, J . In press. The litho-biontic ecological niche, with special reference to micro-organisms. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology.

Kappen, L., Friedmann, E. I., and Garty, Y. In preparation. Eco-physiology of lichens in the dry valleys of southern Victoria Land,Antarctica. I. Microclimate of the cryptoendolithic lichen habitat.

Lindsay, D. C. 1978. The role of lichens in antarctic ecosystems. TheBryologist, 81, 268-276.

Llano, C. A. 1959. Antarctic plant life. American Geophysical Union,Transactions, 40, 200-203.

Schofield, E., and Ahmadjian, V. 1972. Field observations and labo-ratory studies of some antarctic cold desert cryptogams. In C. A.Llano (Ed.), Antarctic terrestrial biology, Antarctic Research Series,Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union.

Figure 2. Bueiia sp. growing in coarse crack of a Ferrar do-lerite boulder, a) surface view, b) lateral view, after splittingopen the rock. Top of Finger Mountain. X 1.5.

Ecosystem comparisons of oasislakes and soils

BRUCE C. PARKER, GEORGE M. SIMMONS, JR.,KENNETH G. SEABURG, and ROBERT A. WHARTON, JR.

Department of BiologyVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, Virginia 24061

The major objectives of Project ECOLS (Ecosystem Com-parisons of Oasis Lakes and Soils), now completing its thirdand final year, were (1) to assess the trophic status of south-

ern Victoria Land lakes and their associated soils and glacialmeltstreams, all located within a small geographic area, and(2) to identify some of the ecological causes for any trophicdifferences. During the first year (1977-78), 11 aquatic eco-systems were examined (Parker and Simmons 1978) andfound to have strikingly different trophic states.

During the second year (1978-79), we focused on twoadjacent lakes in the lower Taylor Valley, Fryxell and Hoare(77 038'S 162 0 53'E), separated only by the width of the Can-ada Glacier (Simmons, Parker, Allnutt, Brown, Cathey, andSeaburg 1980). SCUBA diving beneath the 5- to 6-meter per-manent ice covers of these lakes revealed that the lakebottoms were extensively covered by thick blue-green algalmats.

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