The waters of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas : their origin, nature and management

ABSTRACT Elemental sulfur (S0) is associated with many geochemically diverse hot springs, yet little is known about the phylogeny, physiology, and ecology of the organisms involved in its cycling. Here we report the isolation, characterization, and ecology of two novel, S0-reducing Crenarchaea from an acid geothermal spring referred to as Dragon Spring. Isolate 18U65 grows optimally at 70 to 72°C and at pH 2.5 to 3.0, while isolate 18D70 grows optimally at 81°C and pH 3.0. Both isolates are chemoorganotrophs, dependent on complex peptide-containing carbon sources, S0, and anaerobic conditions for respiration-dependent growth. Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) containing four to six cyclopentyl rings were present in the lipid fraction of isolates 18U65 and 18D70. Physiological characterization suggests that the isolates are adapted to the physicochemical conditions of Dragon Spring and can utilize the natural organic matter in the spring as a carbon and energy source. Quantitative PCR analysis of 16S rRNA genes associated with the S0 flocs recovered from several acid geothermal springs using isolate-specific primers indicates that these two populations together represent 17 to 37% of the floc-associated DNA. The physiological characteristics of isolates 18U65 and 18D70 are consistent with their potential widespread distribution and putative role in the cycling of sulfur in acid geothermal springs throughout the Yellowstone National Park geothermal complex. Based on phenotypic and genetic characterization, the designations Caldisphaera draconis sp. nov. and Acidilobus sulfurireducens sp. nov. are proposed for isolates 18U65 and 18D70, respectively.

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Microstructure of high-temperature (>73 °C) siliceous sinter deposited around hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone National Park: the role of biological and abiological processes in sedimentation

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e03-066 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 40 (11) ◽

pp. 1611-1642 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Donald R Lowe ◽

Deena Braunstein

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Yellowstone National Park ◽

National Park ◽

Hot Springs ◽

Strain Effect ◽

Temperature Sinter ◽

Architectural Features ◽

Siliceous Sinter ◽

High Temperature Sinter

Slightly alkaline hot springs and geysers in Yellowstone National Park exhibit distinctive assemblages of high-temperature (>73 °C) siliceous sinter reflecting local hydrodynamic conditions. The main depositional zones include subaqueous pool and channel bottoms and intermittently wetted subaerial splash, surge, and overflow areas. Subaqueous deposits include particulate siliceous sediment and dendritic and microbial silica framework. Silica framework forms thin, porous, microbe-rich films coating subaqueous surfaces. Spicules with intervening narrow crevices dominate in splash zones. Surge and overflow deposits include pool and channel rims, columns, and knobs. In thin section, subaerial sinter is composed of (i) dark brown, nearly opaque laminated sinter deposited on surfaces that evaporate to dryness; (ii) clear translucent silica deposited subaqueously through precipitation driven by supersaturation; (iii) heterogeneous silica representing silica-encrusted microbial filaments and detritus; and (iv) sinter debris. Brownish laminations form the framework of most sinter deposited in surge and overflow zones. Pits and cavities are common architectural features of subaerial sinter and show concave-upward pseudo-cross-laminations and micro-unconformities developed through migration. Marked birefringence of silica deposited on surfaces that evaporate to dryness is probably a strain effect. Repeated wetting and evaporation, often to dryness, and capillary effects control the deposition, morphology, and microstructure of most high-temperature sinter outside of the fully subaqueous zone. Microbial filaments are abundant on and within high-temperature sinter but do not provide the main controls on morphology or structuring except in biofilms developed on subaqueous surfaces. Millimetre-scale lamination cyclicity in much high-temperature sinter represents annual layering and regular seasonal fluctuations in silica sedimentation.

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Vigilance and foraging patterns of American elk during the rut in habitats with and without predators

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z03-011 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 81 (2) ◽

pp. 266-271 ◽

Cited By ~ 78

Author(s):

Jerry O Wolff ◽

Toni Van Horn

Keyword(s):

Cervus Elaphus ◽

National Park ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Hot Springs ◽

Rocky Mountain ◽

Predation Pressure ◽

Risk Avoidance ◽

Foraging Patterns ◽

Survival And Reproduction ◽

Free Environment

Animal behavior is often optimized as a trade-off between survival and reproduction. During the breeding season, mammals tend to maximize their reproductive effort within the constraints of predation pressure. When predation pressure is reduced, greater effort can be allocated to reproductive behavior and less to vigilance and predator avoidance. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that elk, Cervus elaphus, in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), with predators, would spend more time in vigilance and risk-avoidance behavior than would elk in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), a predator-free environment. We further predicted that elk at Mammoth Hot Springs (MAM) in YNP would behave similarly to those at RMNP because predators were absent in that area of the park. Cow elk in YNP spent more time in vigilance and less in foraging during activity periods than did cows in RMNP or MAM. Also, elk in YNP retreated to forest cover during the midday inactive period, whereas elk in RMNP and MAM remained in open habitat. Vigilance was not correlated with group size at either site. Cows with calves spent more time in vigilance and less in foraging than did cows without calves in RMNP and YNP. Bull elk spent most of their time in courtship at all sites, but foraged more at RMNP than in YNP or MAM. Mean harem sizes were similar among the three sites: 17.0 in RMNP, 15.7 in YNP, and 19.0 in MAM. The proportion of cows with calves was significantly lower in the area with predators, YNP (0.10), than in the predator-free areas (0.24 in RMNP and 0.37 in MAM), probably because of greater calf mortality in YNP. Elk in YNP behaved in accordance with a predation risk, whereas those in RMNP and MAM showed less vigilance behavior.

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Carbon Source Preference in Chemosynthetic Hot Spring Communities

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00511-15 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 81 (11) ◽

pp. 3834-3847 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Matthew R. Urschel ◽

Michael D. Kubo ◽

Tori M. Hoehler ◽

John W. Peters ◽

Eric S. Boyd

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

National Park ◽

Hot Springs ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽

Hot Spring ◽

Affinity Constant ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Organic Substrates ◽

Short Term ◽

Acetate Assimilation

ABSTRACTRates of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), formate, and acetate mineralization and/or assimilation were determined in 13 high-temperature (>73°C) hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming, in order to evaluate the relative importance of these substrates in supporting microbial metabolism. While 9 of the hot spring communities exhibited rates of DIC assimilation that were greater than those of formate and acetate assimilation, 2 exhibited rates of formate and/or acetate assimilation that exceeded those of DIC assimilation. Overall rates of DIC, formate, and acetate mineralization and assimilation were positively correlated with spring pH but showed little correlation with temperature. Communities sampled from hot springs with similar geochemistries generally exhibited similar rates of substrate transformation, as well as similar community compositions, as revealed by 16S rRNA gene-tagged sequencing. Amendment of microcosms with small (micromolar) amounts of formate suppressed DIC assimilation in short-term (<45-min) incubations, despite the presence of native DIC concentrations that exceeded those of added formate by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. The concentration of added formate required to suppress DIC assimilation was similar to the affinity constant (Km) for formate transformation, as determined by community kinetic assays. These results suggest that dominant chemoautotrophs in high-temperature communities are facultatively autotrophic or mixotrophic, are adapted to fluctuating nutrient availabilities, and are capable of taking advantage of energy-rich organic substrates when they become available.

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