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Born among the ice: first morphological observations on two developmental stages of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, a key species of the Southern Ocean

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An Erratum to this article was published on 27 May 2009

An Erratum to this article was published on 27 May 2009

Abstract

The Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum is a keystone species in the Southern Ocean ecosystem, providing one of the major links between lower and higher trophic levels. Despite the importance of this species, surprisingly little is known of its early development. The first spawning area for the silverfish has been recently identified in the near-shore of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea). Evidence indicates that spawning and embryo development occurs in the cryopelagic environment, below the seasonal pack-ice. In order to contribute to the knowledge of the life cycle of this very important Antarctic species, we carried out the first histological characterization on pre-hatching embryos and newly hatched larvae. Embryonated eggs and larvae of P. antarcticum were collected between late October and November 2005 at TNB through holes drilled into the sea ice. Embryonic stage just before hatching and the first post-hatching stage were the most abundant within our samples and thus were analysed using both macroscopic and histological approaches. Early life stages of the Antarctic silverfish revealed interesting features: the sensory system, foraging apparatus and heart appeared well developed, whereas the liver and gills were underdeveloped. Morphological details of the organogenesis were performed, providing the first substantial information on the development of P. antarcticum and representing a further steps towards the knowledge of the life cycle of this important Antarctic key species.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the PNRA (Italian National Antarctic Research Program). We are grateful to Federico Mazzei (DIBIO, University of Genoa), Clive W. Evans, John A. Macdonald, Mike Taler (School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, NZ) and Arthur L. DeVries (Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA) for their work and invaluable collaboration in all the activities at Terra Nova Bay. We acknowledgment also Mario Pestarino (DIBIO, University of Genoa) for his comments. Special thanks to Carla J. L. Atkinson (School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia) and Grazia Tagliafierro (DIBIO, University of Genoa) for their readily available help and suggestions during this study. We are also grateful to an anonymous reviewer who greatly improved our work. Experiments should be carried out in accordance with the European Communities Council Directive of 24 November 1986 (86/609/EEC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICRAM, c/o Museo Nazionale dell’Antartide (MNA), Università di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 5, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    Massimiliano Bottaro & Marino Vacchi

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Genova, Viale Benedetto XV 5, 16132, Genoa, Italy

    Diana Oliveri, Laura Ghigliotti, Eva Pisano & Sara Ferrando

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  1. Massimiliano Bottaro
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  2. Diana Oliveri
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  3. Laura Ghigliotti
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  4. Eva Pisano
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  6. Marino Vacchi
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Correspondence to Massimiliano Bottaro.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11160-009-9117-2

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Bottaro, M., Oliveri, D., Ghigliotti, L. et al. Born among the ice: first morphological observations on two developmental stages of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum, a key species of the Southern Ocean. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 19, 249–259 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-009-9106-5

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