title: Colonization of maritime glacier ice by bdelloid Rotifera.
abstract: Very few animal taxa are known to reside permanently in glacier ice/snow. Here we report the widespread colonization of Icelandic glaciers and ice fields by species of bdelloid Rotifera. Specimens were collected within the accumulation zones of Langjökull and Vatnajökull ice caps, among the largest European ice masses. Rotifers reached densities up to ∼100 individuals per liter-equivalent of glacier ice/snow, and were freeze-tolerant. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that glacier rotifers are polyphyletic, with independent ancestries occurring within the Pleistocene. Collectively, these data identify a previously undescribed environmental niche for bdelloid rotifers and suggest their presence in comparable habitats worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 315 Penn St., Camden, NJ 08102, United States. Electronic address: dshain@camden.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Shain
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Katrín
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Halldórsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Science, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Finnur
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pálsson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Science, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Guðfinna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aðalgeirsdóttir
authors.affiliation: Landsvirkjun National Power Company, Háaleitisbraut 68, 103 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Andri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gunnarsson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Science, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Þorsteinn
authors.initials: Þ
authors.lastname: Jónsson
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 315 Penn St., Camden, NJ 08102, United States.
authors.forename: Shirley A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: HSSR Search and Rescue Team, Malarhöfði 6, 110 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Hlynur Skagfjörð
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Pálsson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Earth Science, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Sveinbjörn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinþórssson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Askja, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
authors.forename: Einar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arnason
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D046448:Ice Cover; D007055:Iceland; D010802:Phylogeny; D012403:Rotifera / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*
keywords: Adaptation; Extreme environment; Iceland; Psychrophilic