Diversity and Significance of Lithobiotic Communities at the Rock Art Site “Tomskaya Pisanitsa”
D. Yu. Vlasov1,2, M. S. Zelenskaya1, K. V. Sazanova2,3, S. B. Shchigorets4, A. R. Izatulina1, O. A. Rodina1,5, I. S. Stepanchikova1,2, A. D. Vlasov6, E. I. Polyanskaya1, D. A. Davydov5, E. A. Miklashevich7,8, O. A. Pavlova9, O. V. Frank-Kamenetskaya1
1Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
2Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
3St. Petersburg Branch of the Archives of RAS, Apatity, Russia
4St. Petersburg Institute of Restoration and Construction, St. Petersburg, Russia
5Avronin Polar Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute of Kola Scientific Center of the RAS, Apatity, Russia
6St. Petersburg Branch of the Archives of RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia
7Institute of Archeology of RAS, Moscow, Russia
8Kuzbass Museum-Reserve “Tomskaya Pisanitsa”, Kemerovo, Russia
9Company “Beagle”, St. Petersburg, Russia
Keywords: petroglyphs, rock, biofouling, lithobitiñ community, biodeterioration, biomineralization
Abstract
The processes of biodeterioration of the unique monument of rock art in Western Siberia “Tomskaya Pisanitsa” were studied by complex of biological and mineralogical methods. The species composition of the lithobiotic community (bacteria, fungi, and lichens) was identified using a complex of cultural, morphological, and molecular genetic methods. It is shown that the destruction of the monument is a result of interrelated physical, chemical and biological processes, accompanied by a change in the properties of the rock and its biological colonization. The structure of microbial communities depends on local environment and successional processes. The development of biofilms with the dominance of cyanobacteria was observed on the rock zones of increased moisture and the formation of carbonate crusts. The problems of adaptation of the lithobiotic microorganisms to existence at the rock art monument “Tomskaya Pisanitsa” as well as their role in the processes of oxalate and carbonate biomineralization are discussed. The obtained results point to the danger of deterioration of the “Tomskaya Pisanitsa” and indicate the need to find new effective ways to protect this monument taking into account the accumulated scientific data.
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