Microbial community composition and trophic role along a marked salinity gradient in Laguna Puilar, Salar de Atacama, Chile
Abstract
The geological, hydrological and microbiological features of the Salar de Atacama, the most extensive evaporitic sedimentary basin in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, have been extensively studied. In contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to the composition and roles of microbial communities in hypersaline lakes which are a unique feature in the Salar. In the present study biochemical, chemical and molecular biological tools were used to determine the composition and roles of microbial communities in water, microbial mats and sediments along a marked salinity gradient in Laguna Puilar which is located in the "Los Flamencos" National Reserve. The bacterial communities at the sampling sites were dominated by members of the phyla Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria. Stable isotope and fatty acid analyses revealed marked variability in the composition of microbial mats at different sampling sites both horizontally (at different sites) and vertically (in the different layers). The Laguna Puilar was shown to be a microbially dominated ecosystem in which more than 60% of the fatty acids at particular sites are of bacterial origin. Our pioneering studies also suggest that the energy budgets of avian consumers (three flamingo species) and dominant invertebrates (amphipods and gastropods) use minerals as a source of energy and nutrients. Overall, the results of this study support the view that the Salar de Atacama is a heterogeneous and fragile ecosystem where small changes in environmental conditions may alter the balance of microbial communities with possible consequences at different trophic levels.
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Salt flats are fragile ecosystems characterized by unique biodiversity, including birds in conservation categories and benthonic microorganisms fundamental to trophic chains.
“Salt flats are fragile ecosystems characterized by unique biodiversity, including birds in the conservation category, such as flamingos, and benthonic microorganisms fundamental to the tropic chains.”
From Water or mineral resource? Legal interpretations and hydrosocial configurations of lithium mining in Chile (2023) · cites this paper as Dorador et al., 2018
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Dorador, C., Fink, P., Hengst, M., Icaza, G., Villalobos, A. S., Vejar, D., Meneses, D., Zadjelovic, V., Burmann, L., Moelzner, J., & Harrod, C.
- Affiliations
- Universidad de Antofagasta (CL)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Universidad Católica del Norte (CL)
- Corresponding author
- Dorador, Cristina
- ORCID
- Venue
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- Published
- 2018-05-09
- Volume
- 111
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1361-1374
- ISSN
- 0003-6072 (ISSN-L)
- 1572-9699
- OpenAlex
- W2801486882
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 2.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Kölner Universitäts PublikationsServer (Universität zu Köln) (publishedVersion)
- Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- BMBF-CONICYT (BMBF-CONICYT N° PCCI1-2043, BMBF FKZ 01DN13015)
- Fondo de Fomento al Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT 1140179)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Polar Research and Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Metal Extraction and Bioleaching
- Keywords
- microbial community composition, salinity gradient, hypersaline lakes, Salar de Atacama, microbial mats, bacterial fatty acids, stable isotope analysis, trophic role, flamingos, Amphipoda, Gastropoda, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, ecosystem heterogeneity
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Chile, Phylogeny, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Water Microbiology, Ecosystem, Geologic Sediments, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Biodiversity, Salinity
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