Antarctica plays a central role in regulating global climatic and oceanographic patterns and
is an integral part of global climate change discussions. The functioning of Antarctica's …

Although Antarctica was once believed to be a sterile environment, it is now clear that the
microbial communities inhabiting the Antarctic continent are surprisingly diverse. Until the …

Ecologists have long studied primary succession, the changes that occur in biological
communities after initial colonization of an environment. Most of this work has focused on …

Glacier forefields provide a unique chronosequence to assess microbial or plant
colonization and ecological succession on previously uncolonized substrates. Patterns of …

Global patterns in diversity were estimated for cyanobacteria-dominated hypolithic
communities that colonize ventral surfaces of quartz stones and are common in desert …

This review compiles principal data on Antarctic cynobacteria published in recent decades
and focuses on the diversity, environmental adaptations, and ecotypes of these …

Under extreme water deficit, endolithic (inside rock) microbial ecosystems are considered
environmental refuges for life in cold and hot deserts, yet their diversity and functional …

Highlights•We discuss how climate change may be leading to shifts in microbial diversity
and ecosystem function in cold soils.•We explore the dominant taxa in Arctic and Antarctic …

Ice-free areas of Victoria Land, in Antarctica, are characterized by different terrestrial
ecosystems, that are dominated by microorganisms supporting highly adapted communities …

Hypolithic microbial communities develop on the belowground surfaces of translucent
stones. These stones are embedded in dryland soils with their dorsal surface exposed, and …