Supervised by:

Alexander Culley (Regular member)

Research project description

Viral diversity and host interactions in cryoconite holes on Ward Hunt's uplift ice

IntroductionClimate change is affecting the Arctic region faster than anywhere else, but our knowledge of northern viruses remains limited. For example, the unique cryoconite ecosystems of Ward Hunt ice rise play a significant role in accelerating ice melt, but the major viral players are unknown. As the transformation of this region continues more pressure, it is important to study the viral diversity of these northern ecosystem to better assess their role.ObjectivesThe main objective of my research is to characterize the diversity and abundance of viruses, and their modes of infection in the cryoconites holes of the Ward Hunt Ice Rise, a region linked to the Last Ice Area. My specific objective is to compare viral diversity in the two primary cryoconite hole habitats : the sediments and the meltwater. Study sitesThe sampling site is located on Ward Hunt Island (WHI), Nunavut, Canada. My sampling site is located on the ice rise (WHIR), which was formed 1500 sea years ago. This ice cap is between 40m and 100m thick and is located north of the island. Between 2000 and 2002, a fracture in the ice shelf, located south of WHI, weakened the structure of the ice, making te WHIR even more sensitive to wind, tides and waves. This fracture also completely drained an epishelf lake in the Disraeli Fjord, South-Est of the ice shelf. This site is important, as the WHIR could become the last remaining intact ice located along Ellesmere Island.Material and methodsSediments were collected with sterile metal spoons and the melt water was filtered directly on site through 0.02um AnotopsTM filters. Total nucleic acids will be extracted and metagenomic libraries will be generated from all samples. A custom bioinformatic pipeline has been developed to then analyse the data. Referencesin cryoconite holes on a high Arctic glacier (Svalbard). Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 112(G4). doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JG000350 Braun, C., Hardy, D. R., Bradley, R. S., & Sahanatien, V. (2004). Surface mass balance of the Ward Hunt Ice Rise and Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres, 109(22). doi:10.1029/2004JD004560 Howard-Varona, C., Hargreaves, K. R., Abedon, S. T.,

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