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Scottnema lindsayae is the only soil metazoan in remote Antarctic deserts, at greater densities with altitude.
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Scottnema lindseyae is a microbivorous nematode feeding on bacteria, yeast and algal cells. It has been found in a wide range of terrestrial habitats in the Antarctic. Moreover, in Antarctic deserts, which are among the driest and coldest places on Earth a positive correlation was found between nematode density and altitude. Less frequent habitats includes snow covered soil; near streams, in lake sediments and, mosses. This cephalob nematode reproduces sexually, with a life cycle unusually long of 218days at 10°C, suggesting that more than one austral summer may be required for successful completion. At laboratory conditions, temperatures higher than 10°C had a negative effect on life cycle parameters. An increase in Dry Valley soil temperatures associated with global environmental change will have detrimental effects on this antarctic soil nematodes.
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Comparison of worm activity age decay in 2 different bacterial strains (strain1=OP50 vs strain2=EC1(Sigma-Aldrich)). 50 N2 adult worms where cultured in 96well microplates using: S complete medium + FuDR + E.coli strain (OD600=0.7). Plate was measured daily, 30minutes a day for 9 days, using WMicrotracker ONE.