Abstract
Glacial retreat and subglacial bedrock erosion are consequences of rapid regional warming on the West Antarctic Peninsula. Sedimentation of fine-grained eroded particles can impact the physiology of filter-feeding benthic organisms. We investigated the effect of increasing concentrations of sediment on the oxygen consumption of suspension feeding species, the ascidians Molgula pedunculata, Cnemidocarpa verrucosa, Ascidia challengeri, and the pennatulid Malacobelemnon daytoni in Potter Cove (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). In A. challengeri and C. verrucosa, oxygen consumption increased gradually up to a critical sediment concentration (C crit) where species oxygen consumption was maximal (O max in mg O2 g−1dm day−1) and further addition of sediments decreased respiration. C crit was 200 mg L−1 for A. challengeri (O max of 0.651 ± 0.238) and between 100 and 200 mg L−1 for C. verrucosa (O max of 0.898 ± 0.582). Oxygen consumption of M. pedunculata increased significantly even at low sediment concentrations (15–50 mg sediment L−1). Contrary to the ascidians, sediment exposure did not affect oxygen consumption of the sea pen. The tiered response to sedimentation in the four species corroborates recent field observations that detected a reduction in the abundance of the sensitive ascidian M. pedunculata from areas strongly affected by glacial sediment discharge, whereas sea pens are increasing in abundance. Our investigation relates consequences (population shifts in filter-feeder communities) to causes (glacial retreat) and is of importance for modelling of climate change effects in Antarctic shallow coastal areas.
References
Bates WR (2005) Environmental factors affecting reproduction and development in ascidians and other protochordates. Can J Zool 83:51–61
Best A, Best BA (1988) Passive suspension feeding in a sea pen: effects of ambient flow on volume flow rate and filtering efficiency. Biol Bull 175(3):332–342
Brafield AE, Chapman G (1967) The respiration of Pteroides griseum (Bohadsch) a pennatulid coelenterate. J Exp Biol 46(1):97–104
Dominguez C, Erazo A (2007) Substantial changes happened during the last years in the icecap of King George Island, Antarctica. In: Tyk A, Stefaniak K (eds) Karst, Cryokarst, Studies of the Faculty of Earth Science, University of Silesia, vol 45, pp 87–100
Fiala-Médioni A (1979) Effects of oxygen tension on pumping, filtration and oxygen uptake in the Ascidian Phallusia mammillata. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 1:49–53
Gili J, Arntz W, Palanques A et al (2006) A unique assemblage of epibenthic sessile suspension feeders with archaic features in the high-Antarctic. Deep Sea Res Part 2 Top Stud Oceanogr 53:1029–1052
Gnaiger E (1983) Calculation on energetic and biochemical equivalents of respiratory oxygen consumption. In: Gnaiger E, Forstner H (eds) Polarographic oxygen sensors. Springer, Berlin, pp 337–345
Kowalke J (1999) Filtration in antarctic ascidians: striking a balance. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 242:233–244
Labasque T, Chaumery C, Aminot A, Keroat G (2004) Spectrophotometric Winkler determination of dissolved oxygen: re-examination of critical factors and reliability. Mar Chem 88:53–60
López-González PJ, Gili J-M, Fuentes V (2009) A new species of shallow-water sea pen (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea: Kophobelemnidae) from Antarctica. Polar Biol 32:907–914
Modig H, Ólafsson E (1998) Responses of Baltic benthic invertebrates to hypoxic events. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 229:133–148
Monien P, Schnetger B, Brumsack H-J et al (2011) A geochemical record of late Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes at King George Island (maritime Antarctica). Antarct Sci 23:255–267
Orejas C, J-Maria Gili, Arntz W (2003) Role of small-plankton communities in the diet of two Antarctic octocorals (Primnoisis antarctica and Primnoella sp.). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 250:105–116
Pakhomov EA, Fuentes VL, Schloss IR et al (2003) The tunicate Salpa thompsoni ecology in the Southern Ocean. II. Proximate and elemental composition. Polar Biol 26:427–431
Petersen JK (2007) Ascidian suspension feeding. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 342:127–137
Philipp EER, Husmann G, Abele D (2011) The impact of sediment deposition and iceberg scour on the Antarctic soft shell clam Laternula elliptica at King George Island, Antarctica. Antarct Sci 23:127–138
Robbins IJ (1985) Ascidian growth and survival at high inorganic particulate concentrations. Mar Pollut Bull 16:365–367
Roland F, Caraco NF, Cole JJ (1999) Rapid and precise determination of dissolved oxygen by spectrophotometry: evaluation of interference from colour and turbidity. Limnol Oceanogr 44(4):1148–1154
Rückamp M, Braun M, Suckro S et al (2011) Observed glacial changes on the King George Island ice cap, Antarctica, in the last decade. Glob Planet Change 79:99–109
Sahade R, Tatián M, Kowalke J et al (1998) Benthic faunal associations on soft substrates at Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica. Polar Biol 19:85–91
Sahade R, Tatián M, Esnal GB (2004) Reproductive ecology of the ascidian Cnemidocarpa verrucosa at Potter Cove, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 272:131–140
Schloss IR, Abele D, Moreau S et al (2012) Response of phytoplankton dynamics to 19 year (1991–2009) climate trends in Potter Cove (Antarctica). J Mar Syst 92(1):53–66
Soong K (2005) Reproduction and colony integration of the sea pen Virgularia juncea. Mar Biol 146:1103–1109
Thrush SF, Hewitt JE, Cummings VJ et al (2004) Muddy waters: elevating sediment input to coastal and estuarine habitats. Front Ecol Environ 2(6):299–306
Vaquer-Sunyer R, Duarte CM (2008) Thresholds of hypoxia for marine biodiversity. PNAS 105(40):15452–15457
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Editor in Chief, Dieter Piepenburg and to the reviewers, especially to Lloyd Peck for their critical comments and suggestions that have improved considerably this manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Torre, L., Servetto, N., Eöry, M.L. et al. Respiratory responses of three Antarctic ascidians and a sea pen to increased sediment concentrations. Polar Biol 35, 1743–1748 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1208-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-012-1208-1