Biology of Antarctic Fish

297 Pages·1991·8.99 MB·English

by  G. Hubold (auth.)

Bl-ology
Guido di Prisco
Bruno Maresca
Antarctic
=~Tobf
Fish
With 105 Figures
and 30 Tables
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg New York
London Paris Tokyo
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Budapest
Professor Dr. Guido di Prisco
Institute of Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology (lBPE)
Italian National Research Council
Via Marconi 10,1-80125 Naples
Italy
Professor Dr. Bruno Maresca
International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, CNR
1-80125 Naples
Italy
Professor Dr. Bruno Tota
University of Calabria
1-87030 Arcavacata di Rende (CS)
Italy
ISBN-13:978-3-642-76219-2 e-ISBN-13:978-3-642-76217-8
DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-76217-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biology of antarctic fish/ Guido de Prisco, Bruno Maresca, Bruno Tota, editors. p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Marine fishes -Antarctic Ocean -Congresses.
I. Di Prisco, Guido, 1937- . II. Maresca, B. (Bruno), 1950- . III. Tola, Bruno.
QL637.2.B56 1991 597.092'4-dc20 91-35000 CIP
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Preface
Antarctica originated as a fragment of the ancient supercontinent
Gondwana, which drifted to its present polar position and was isolated
climatically and biologically by the establishment of a circumpolar
oceanic circulation. This gave rise to a well-defmed, roughly circular
ocean front: the Antarctic Convergence, During the past 25 million
years, fIsh have remained in isolation south of the Convergence, where
the progressive cooling of the environment became a key factor in
influencing their evolution. At present, the year-round temperature of
the coastal waters is very near -1.87°C, the equilibrium temperature of
the ice-seawater mixture.
The unique characteristics produced in antarctic fIsh in the course of
their evolution during the long isolation south of the Convergence
encourage the investigation of this ecosystem. Populations of complex
organisms such as fIsh contain a hierarchy oflevels ofo rganization: indi
viduals, organ systems, cells, organelles, membranes, molecules (in
order of decreasing complexity). Indeed, the temperature of the en
vironment affects each of the levels ofo rganization offlsh life. Thus, the
biology of fIsh of the Antarctic Ocean, where the extremely low tem
perature is a feature of the utmost importance, can be best explored
when multidisciplinary approaches and efforts are combined in a
general framework.
The need to produce a clear, up-to-date picture ofthe present state of
knowledge in a large number off Ields oft he biology off Ish belonging to
this unique environment, gave rise to a strong motivation to organize a
meeting along these lines.
The Second International Conference: Biology of Antarctic Fishes
("Ravello 2") took place in Ravello (Italy) at the end of May 1990. It was
sponsored by the Italian National Research Council and by the National
"Programme for Antarctic Research. ''Ravello 2" was a follow-up of the
fIrst Conference ("Ravello I", 1986), which dealt with a much broader
range of topics inherent to marine biology of antarctic organisms.
The Conference lectures were focused on ecology, evolution, life
history, physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology of antarctic
fIsh, and are all contained in this volume. Weare possibly dealing with
the most comprehensive and complete contribution so far available in
the fIeld.
VI Preface
We express our gratitude to all the speakers, thanks to whom the
Conference has been so stimulating and productive. We also wish to
express our sincere hope to reconvene in "Ravello 3" in the near future.
NapleslItaly, October 1990 Guido di Prisco
Bruno Maresca
Bruno Tota
The speakers at the Second International Conference: Biology of
Antarctic Fishes ("Ravello 2"). From left to right: front row, Eastman,
Detrich, Targett, Duhamel, Radtke; second row, Hemmingsen, Ekau,
Hubold, Wells, Sidell, North, EI-Sayed, Somera, Clarke, Johnston,
DeVries, Macdonald, Kellermann, accompanying person; at back,
White, Tota, di Prisco, Maresca.
Contents
Part 1 Ecology, Evolution and Life History
Ecology of Notothenioid Fish in the Weddell Sea
(With 8 Figures) ............................................ 3
G.Hubold
Morphological Adaptations and Mode of Life
in High Antarctic Fish (With 6 Figures) ...................... 23
WEkau
The Biological and Demographic Peculiarities
of the Icefish Champsocephalus gunnari L6nnberg, 1905
from the Kerguelen Plateau (With 8 Figures) ................ 40
G.Duhamel
Is the Growth of Polar Fish Limited by Temperature?
(With 6 Figures) ............................................ 54
A. Clarke and A. W North
Review of the Early Life History
of Antarctic Notothenioid Fish (With 1 Figure) 70
A. WNorth
Age Determination in Antarctic Fish (With 4 Figures) ......... 87
MG. White
Microstructural Analysis of Growth Patterns
in the Early Life History of Antarctic Fishes (With 7 Figures) .. 101
R. L. Radtke and A. Kellermann
The Fossil and Modern Fish Faunas of Antarctica:
Evolution and Diversity (With 3 Figures) 116
J T.Eastman
The Contribution of the BIOMASS Program
to Antarctic Marine Ecosystem Research (With 3 Figures) ..... 131
S. Z. El-Sayed
x Contents
Part 2 Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Sensory Biology of Notothenioid Fish (With 9 Figures) ... 145
1.A.Macdonald and 1. C.Montgomery
Viscosity of Body Fluids
from Antarctic Notothenioid Fish (With 9 Figures) ............. 163
1.A.Macdonald and R.M. G. Wells
Low Temperature Limits Burst Swimming Performance
in Antarctic Fish (With 6 Figures) ............................ 179
LA. Johnston, T.P.Johnson, and 1. C.Battram
Respiratory and Cardiovascular Adaptations
in Hemoglobin-Free Fish:
Resolved and Umesolved Problems (With 2 Figures) .......... 191
E. A. Hemmingsen
Structural and Mechanical Characteristics
of the Heart of the Icefish Chionodraco hamatus (LOnnberg)
(With 10 Figures) ........................................... 204
B. Tota, C.Agnisola, M.Schioppa, R.Aciemo,
P. Harrison, and G. Zummo
Physiological Roles of High Lipid Content
in Tissues of Antarctic Fish Species (With 5 Figures) .......... 220
B. D. Sidell
Biochemical Mechanisms of Cold Adaptation
and Stenothermality in Antarctic Fish (With 10 Figures) ....... 232
G.N.Somero
Polymerization of Microtubule Proteins
from Antarctic Fish (With 6 Figures) ......................... 248
H. W. Detrich III
The Biochemistry of Oxygen Transport
in Red-Blooded Antarctic Fish (With 2 Figures) ............... 263
G. di Prisco, R. D'Avino, C. Caruso, M. Tamburrini, L. Camardella,
B. Rutigliano, V. Ca"atore, and M. Romano
Subject Index ............................................... 283
Part I
Ecology, Evolution and Life History
Ecology of Notothenioid Fish
in the Weddell Sea
G. Hubold
1 Introduction
Low water temperature, and the seasonality and scarcity of food are key factors in
the life of polar ectotherms (Clarke 1983). Life in cold water requires special
adaptations against freezing in teleost fish (DeVries 1971), and the need to accumu
late energy reserves during summer may govern the seasonal activity pattern. In
addition to these typical high-latitude features, environmental factors such as water
mass distribution and current patterns also affect the life of fish in the Antarctic.
Hydrography becomes a critical factor when pelagic stages are included in the life
history (Harden Jones 1968; Cushing 1974; Sinclair 1988).
For evolutionary adaptation, stability or predictability of the environment is
important. Antarctic fish occur over a latitudinal range of more than 20° in the
Atlantic sector. While temperature and production decrease towards the south,
stability of temperature and predictability of hydrographic features increase in the
permanent pack-ice zone surrounding the continent (Hempel 1990). Environmental
conditions similar to those presently found may have prevailed over the past 20
million years, although several major advances and retreats of the continental ice
sheet will have had effects on the composition of the fish fauna (DeWitt 1970;
Hubold and Ekau 1987; Clarke and Crame 1989). High latitude species may
therefore by confronted with very severe conditions, but may also have had the
possibility to develop very specialized adaptations to match these conditions in the
course of evolution. Fish species from high antarctic latitu.des (e.g., McMurdo
Sound) were found to have more specialized biochemical adaptations than subant
arctic species (De Vries and Eastman 1981). It is therefore of interest to investigate
a wider spectrum of biological characteristics of high-latitude antarctic fish and
relate these to the key factors of the particular environment, such as the southern
Weddell Sea.
Institute for Polar Ecology, University of Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40-60 D-2300 Kiel I(W), FRO