Anchialine pools and cenotes

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Introduction

Brackish anchialine pool.

Amazing photo of Yax Mul cenote on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

Anchialine pools are brackish bodies of water that are land-locked. These pools experience tidal fluctuations and lack surface connections to the sea. They only occur in highly porous substrates like recent lavas or limestone that are near the ocean. There are many species that are endemic to anchialine pools including flora, fauna, and microbial communities. Anchialine pools are very common globally, located in the Red Sea on the Sinai Peninsula, islands in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and in the Pacific Ocean including the Hawaiian islands. They are also located on the Yucatan Peninsula, where they are known as cenotes. The majority of anchialine pools exist in the Hawaiian Islands, but these are being degraded by invasive species and anthropogenic distrurbances.

Cenotes are circular and cliffed sinkholes that contain watertable lakes. They formed by the dissolution of limestone by carbonic acid in karst areas and serve as the main sources of fresh water for humans and wildlife. They contain very clear water and large channels and characteristic heterogeneous vegetation, including tall evergreen trees like Ficus species, that surrounds the opening of the cenote. Cenotes are common on coastal karst plains with low topography. The most popular cenotes are located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and are the only known underground aquatic system located there. They are also located in the Florida peninsula, southeastern South Australia, South Africa, Turkey on the Anatolian Plateau, and the Bahamas Banks. In the Bahamas Banks, they occur onshore and offshore, where they occur as drowned cenotes called Blue Holes. Cenotes are threatened by nitrate contamination from untreated animal wastes, leaching of fertilizers, and vegetation removal. Since the water in these lakes is so clear, they are prime places for scuba diving and cave diving. Both of these activities also have the potential to harm the ecosystems that occur in cenotes.

Anchialine pools and cenotes are home to different types of grazers. Thick and intricate microbial mats also form in these areas due to nutrients provided by hydrothermal inputs. The microbes in the microbial mats undergo anaerobic respiration. Microbial processes that occur here include: methanogenesis, sulfur reduction, and anaerobic ammonia oxidation.

Microbial communities

What kind of microbes do we typically find in this environment? Or associated with important processes in this environment? Describe key groups of microbes that we find in this environment, and any special adaptations they may have evolved to survive in this environment. List examples of specific microbes that represent key groups or are associated with important processes found in this environment. Link to other MicrobeWiki pages where possible.

Are there important biological interactions that are important in this environment? Do these interactions influence microbial populations and their activities? How do these interactions influence other organisms? Describe biological interactions that might take place in this environment, using as many sections/subsections as you require. Look at other topics available in MicrobeWiki. Create links where relevant.

Microbial processes

What microbial processes define this environment? Describe microbial processes that are important in this habitat, adding sections/subsections as needed. Look at other topics in MicrobeWiki. Are some of these processes already described? Create links where relevant.

Anaerobic respiration

Sulfate reduction

Sulfur Cycle Diagram

References

Brock, R.E. and Bailey-Brock, J.H. "An Unique Anchialine Pool in the Hawaiian Islands". International Review of Hydrobiology. 1998. Volume 83. p. 65-75.

Brock, R.E., Norris, J.E., Ziemann, D.A., and Lee, M.T. "Characteristics of Water Quality in Anchialine Ponds of the Kona, Hawaii, Coast". Pacific Science. 1987. Volume 41. p. 200-208.

Donachie, S.P., Hou, S., Lee, K.S., Riley, C.W., Pikina, A., Belisle, C., Kempe, S., Gregory, T.S., Bossuyt, A., Boerema, J., Liu, J., Freitas, T.A., Malahoff, A., and Alam, M. "The Hawaiian Archipelago: A Microbial Diversity Hotspot". Microbial Ecology. 2004. Volume 48. p. 509-520.

MacSwiney G., M.C., Vilchis L., P., Clarke, F.M., and Racey, P.A. "The Importance of Cenotes in Conserving Bat Assemblages in the Yucatan, Mexico.". Biological Conservation. 2007. Volume 136. p. 499-509.

Sahl, J.W., Gary, M.O., Harris, J.K., and Spear, J.R. "A Comparative Molecular Analysis of Water-filled Limestone Sinkholes in North-eastern Mexico". Environmental Microbiology. 2011. Volume 13. p. 226-240.

Schmitter-Soto, J.J., Comín, F.A., Escobar-Briones, E., Herrera-Silveira, J., Alcocer, J., Suárez-Morales, E., Elías-Gutiérrez, M., Díaz-Arce, V., Marín, L.E., and Steinich, B. "Hydrogeochemical and Biological Characteristics of Cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula (SE Mexico)". Hydrobiologia. 2002. Volume 467. p. 215-228.

Webb, J.A., Grimes, K.G., Lewis, I.D. "Volcanogenic Origin of Cenotes Near Mt Gambier , Southeastern Australia". Geomorphology. 2010. Volume 119. p. 23-35.

Edited by Lauren Behnke, a student of Angela Kent at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.