Five animal phyla in glacier ice reveal unprecedented biodiversity in New Zealand's Southern Alps.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Shain DH
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7887191 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Five animal phyla in glacier ice reveal unprecedented biodiversity in New Zealand's Southern Alps.
Shain Daniel H DH Novis Philip M PM Cridge Andrew G AG Zawierucha Krzysztof K Geneva Anthony J AJ Dearden Peter K PK
Scientific reports 20210216 1
Glacier ice is an extreme environment in which most animals cannot survive. Here we report the colonization of high elevation, climate-threatened glaciers along New Zealand's southwestern coast by species of Arthropoda, Nematoda, Platyhelminthes, Rotifera and Tardigrada. Based on DNA barcoding and haplotype-inferred evidence for deep genetic variability, at least 12 undescribed species are reported, some of which have persisted in this niche habitat throughout the Pleistocene. These findings ide ...[more]
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