Atmospheric Microbial Transport to Antarctica and Its Ecological Implications: A Systematic Review.

Atmospheric transport acts as a selective ecological filter, shaping Antarctic microbial communities by favoring stress-tolerant organisms, with 53 studies revealing three main pathways.

• Why it matters: Understanding how microbes disperse and establish in Antarctica is crucial because it influences ecosystem dynamics and responses to climate change, yet the mechanisms remain poorly understood.
• What they did: A systematic review of 53 studies identified three transport pathways—long-range advection, marine aerosolization, and local resuspension—and highlighted evidence of atmospheric selection pressures like UV and desiccation.
• The result: Findings suggest that atmospheric deposition introduces stress-adapted microbes capable of altering nutrient cycling, emphasizing the need for future research on their viability and metabolic activity to predict ecological impacts.