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Production and respiration of Antarctic ascidians

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Ecological Studies in the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone

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Abstract

Solitary ascidians are the most abundant group of mega-epibenthic animals below 20 m in Potter Cove, King George Island. The present work deals with aspects of growth and respiration to explain this dominance. High growth rates and longevity (maximum ages between 3.1 and 10.6 years) make them effective colonisers after destructive events. Low basal metabolism (between 0.023 and 0.057 ml 02 h-1 per g ash-free dry mass, T= 1°C) elevates the scope for growth. These properties, together with other factors, allow these animals to tolerate disturbances better than other filter-feeding groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Columbusstrasse, 27515, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Jens Kowalke & Wolf Arntz

  2. Cátedra de Anatomía Comparada, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Avenida Velez Sarsfield 299, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina

    Marcos Tatián & Ricardo Sahade

Authors
  1. Jens Kowalke
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  2. Wolf Arntz
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  3. Marcos Tatián
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  4. Ricardo Sahade
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, P. O. Box 120161, 275515, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Wolf E. Arntz

  2. British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley road, CB3 OET, Cambridge, UK

    Andrew Clarke

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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kowalke, J., Arntz, W., Tatián, M., Sahade, R. (2002). Production and respiration of Antarctic ascidians. In: Arntz, W.E., Clarke, A. (eds) Ecological Studies in the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59419-9_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59419-9_34

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63973-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59419-9

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