Short-distance distribution patterns of testate amoebae in an Arctic ice-wedge polygon mire (Berelekh-Indigirka lowlands, NE Siberia)

Abstract

AbstractThe Arctic is experiencing substantial warming with possibly large consequences for global climate when its large soil carbon stocks are mobilized. Yet the functioning of permafrost peatlands, which contain considerable amounts of carbon, is still not fully understood. Palaeoecological studies may contribute to unravelling this functioning but require actuo-ecological calibration of the environmental proxies used. Testate amoebae may be valuable proxies for palaeoecological reconstruction, but indeed still large gaps exist regarding their present-day distribution in Arctic peatlands. This study presents the distribution of testate amoebae taxa with high (1 m) spatial resolution along a transect crossing an Arctic ice-wedge polygon mire. Whereas the polygon ridges are characterised by taxa that are known to be typical of dry environments or hydrologically indifferent, the low-lying wet settings show a mixture of wet- and dry-living taxa, indicating seasonally rapidly changing conditions. High testate amoebae concentrations were only found on the dry polygon ridges. Archerella flavum occurs in various moss species in drier polygon settings, in contrast to temperate regions where the species is exclusively known from wet sites with Sphagnum, which probably relates to the special moisture conditions associated with permafrost. To compare the results of full testate amoebae analysis with those of palynology, each surface sample was split into two parts and prepared and analysed following standard testate amoebae analysis and palynological methods, respectively. Clear differences in qualitative content were found and can be attributed to the different preparation methods and to possible small (a few cm) differences in sample location. Nevertheless, the indicative value of testate amoebae found in pollen samples adds importantly to the ecological inference of palynological studies. Overall testate amoebae research is very valuable for the recognition of past ecological settings and the accurate reconstruction of past hydrological regimes in Arctic mires. Considerably more research is, however, necessary to cover the total (ecological) diversity of testate amoebae populations in NE Siberia.