Quick Dips

Antarctic Slime

Taupo biologist Dr Ian Hawes has earned himself the title of "slime buster" for his study of primitive plant forms living in fresh water. This season, his penchant for slime drew him to Antarctica, where he has been studying 1,500 km² of melt ponds on the McMurdo Ice Shelf.

The network of ponds, lakes and streams forms the largest freshwater ecosystem in the McMurdo Sound region on Ross Island. Cyanobacterial mats cover the base of the ponds "like a slimy rug," says Hawes, of DSIR Marine and Freshwater.

"It comes in big sheets and appears like a bit of leather. It is tough and you can cut it, which makes it easy to study."

Hawes is studying how the Antarctic algae adapts to six-month-long days followed by the long dark winter night. Pigments protect the algae from over-exposure to ultraviolet light, with the plants having a protective orange-brown upper layer and a green layer beneath.

"Surface layers absorb light, but most activity occurs underneath in the second layer," says Hawes.

Algae, the most abundant non-marine life in Antarctica, is on the rise. Hawes says it is being introduced through transport servicing the continent. The effect of the algae on the ecosystem is unknown.

"It may change the nature of the community. It is the kind of thing that you don't know what will happen until it's here, a bit like introducing opossums."

Yvonne Martin, DSIR, Scott Base