An analysis of Great Salt Lake Winogradsky columns -- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2023,41(4):1352-1368

	Cite this paper:
	Sierra A. DE LEON, Anna E. JACKSON, William BLACK, William THOMAS, Matt KRUBACK, June BAXTER, Bonnie K. BAXTER. An analysis of Great Salt Lake Winogradsky columns[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2023, 41(4): 1352-1368

An analysis of Great Salt Lake Winogradsky columns

Sierra A. DE LEON¹, Anna E. JACKSON¹, William BLACK³, William THOMAS³, Matt KRUBACK², June BAXTER¹, Bonnie K. BAXTER¹

1 Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster University, Salt Lake City 84105, USA;
2 Department of Visual Arts, Westminster University, Salt Lake City 84105, USA;
3 Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA

Abstract:

Sergei Winogradsky illuminated revolutionary concepts and produced a tool to visualize complex microbial communities and their metabolisms over time: columns displaying aquatic consortia with variety of niches. We worked with museums in Utah to create Winogradsky columns that would highlight aesthetic properties of the Great Salt Lake (GSL) ecosystem, which has a salinity gradient from the freshwater wetlands to salt saturation. One column, constructed using haloarchaea-rich hypersaline brine and oolitic sand of the lake’s north arm, was enriched with nutrients, and resulted in the desired pink hue over time. After a seven-year maturation period, we examined the microbial taxa present in the water through 16S/18S rRNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) gene sequencing. A pigment analysis revealed an abundance of bacteriochlorophyll a. The presence of this pigment coupled with the DNA sequencing results, suggest that the haloarchaea that dominate the GSL brine, were not responsible for the pink coloration, but instead Gammaproteobacteria, especially Halorhodospira species. Among the eukaryotes, the lack of phytoplankton and the abundance of fungi were noteworthy observations. These data likely relate to the reduction of oxygen in a non-aerated sealed system over time. Our second exhibit had the goal of educating museum goers about the varying salinities of Great Salt Lake. Here we employed three distinct columns of water and sediment from this salinity gradient. Observations of these columns overtime gave us information about invertebrate communities in addition to the microbial consortia. Both installations taught us about comparing an artificial environment in a museum setting to the natural ecosystem. Taken together, we present the data collected and lessons learned from using Winogradsky columns in public spaces for teaching about an important saline lake.

Key words: Great Salt Lake|Winogradsky|halophiles|extreme environment|museum exhibit

Received: 2022-04-09 Revised:

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Articles by Sierra A. DE LEON

Articles by Anna E. JACKSON

Articles by William BLACK

Articles by William THOMAS

Articles by Matt KRUBACK

Articles by June BAXTER

Articles by Bonnie K. BAXTER

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