Microalgae diversity along an Antarctic glacier forefield

Glacier retreat due to global warming has been observed in all the cryosphere [1], systematically exposing new terrestrial ecosystems that had previously been covered by ice. Primary succession, i.e. the assembly of biological communities on newly exposed habitats and their change over time, can be studied along glacier forefields, where distance from the glacier terminus is used as a proxy for time since deglaciation [2]. The study of microbial succession is still at its infancy, but understanding the relationships between microbial communities and soil development will provide us with crucial knowledge on how they influence and respond to changes in environmental conditions. Here, we investigated the structure of microalgal communities along a deglaciation gradient in the forefield of Collins Glacier (Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica).