Glaciers host ecosystems comprised of biodiverse and active microbiota. Among glacial ecosystems, less is known about the ecology of ice caps since most studies focus on valley glaciers or ice sheet margins. Previously we detailed the microbiota of one such high Arctic ice cap, focusing on cryoconite as a microbe‐mineral aggregate formed by cyanobacteria. Here, we employ metabolomics at the scale of an entire ice cap to reveal...

Wild plant populations show extensive genetic subdivision and are far from the ideal of panmixia which permeates population genetic theory. Understanding the spatial and temporal scale of population structure is therefore fundamental for empirical population genetics – and of interest in itself, as it yields insights into the history and biology of a species. In this study we extend the genomic resources for the wild Mediterra...

Summary Microbial photoautotrophs on glaciers engineer the formation of granular microbial‐mineral aggregates termed cryoconite which accelerate ice melt, creating quasi‐cylindrical pits called ‘cryoconite holes’. These act as biogeochemical reactors on the ice surface and provide habitats for remarkably active and diverse microbiota. Evolution of cryoconite holes towards an equilibrium depth is well known, yet interactions be...

Microbial colonization of glacial ice surfaces incurs feedbacks which affect the melting rate of the ice surface. Ecosystems formed as microbe–mineral aggregates termed cryoconite locally reduce ice surface albedo and represent foci of biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling. Consequently, greater understanding the ecological processes in the formation of functional cryoconite ecosystems upon glacier surfaces is sought. Here,...