Abstract
The Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarctica, is ecologically important for connecting lower and upper trophic levels within the coastal marine Antarctic food web. In recent decades, populations of silverfish have exhibited a declining trend in some regions of the Antarctic, in particular the western Antarctic Peninsula. It is of paramount importance to elucidate its life history and to characterize the areas that are crucial for the reproduction of the species: spawning, hatching and nursery areas. Presently, the overall available knowledge is scant and spatially restricted. In this study, we assessed the spatial scales of variation in the distribution patterns of eggs and newly hatched larvae, and their vertical distribution within the platelet ice layer underlying fast ice at Terra Nova Bay. We found that (1) distribution patterns of eggs and larvae abundance significantly changed at a spatial scale of kilometers, while they did not at scale of tens of kilometers and hundreds/tens meters, and (2) eggs were not homogeneously distributed under the solid ice; in particular, the egg abundance was highest at −2.5 m within the platelet ice and dramatically declined more in depth. This study thus allowed shed light on distribution patterns of eggs and early-hatched larvae of the Antarctic silverfish. Such information will be useful to better understand the ecological processes possibly producing the patterns we have observed and then identify further reproduction and nursery areas around the Antarctic continent.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albertson C, Yi-Lin Yan YL, Titus TA, Pisano E, Vacchi M, Yelick PC, Detrich HW, Postlethwait JH (2010) Molecular pedomorphism underlies craniofacial skeletal evolution in Antarctic notothenioid fishes. BMC Evol Biol 10:4. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-4
Andrew NL, Mapstone BD (1987) Sampling and the description of spatial pattern in marine ecology. Oceanogr Mar Biol 25:39–90
Arrigo KR, Thomas DN (2004) Large scale importance of sea ice biology in the Southern Ocean. Antarct Sci 16:471–486. doi:10.1017/S0954102004002263
Barange M, Bernal M, Cercole M, Cubillos L, De Moor C, Daskalov G, de Oliveira J, Dickey-Collas M, Hill K, Jacobson L, Køster F, Masse J, Nishida H, Ñiquen M, Oozeki Y, Palomera I, Saccardo S, Santojanni A, Serra R, Somarakis S, Stratoudakis Y, van der Lingen C, Uriarte A, Yatsu A (2009) Current trends in the assessment and management of small pelagic fish stocks. In: Checkley D, Roy C, Oozeki Y, Alheit J (eds) Climate change and small pelagic fish stocks. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 191–255
Bottaro M, Oliveri D, Ghigliotti L, Pisano E, Ferrando S, Vacchi M (2009) Insights into the life cycle of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum: morphology of two developmental stages. Rev Fish Biol Fisher 19:249–259. doi:10.1007/s11160-009-9106-5
Budillon G, Spezie G (2000) Thermohaline structure and variability in the Terra Nova Bay polynya, Ross Sea. Antarct Sci 12:493–508. doi:10.1017/S0954102000000572
Buffoni G, Cappelletti A, Picco P (2002) An investigation of thermohaline circulation in Terra Nova Bay polynya. Antarct Sci 14:83–92. doi:10.1017/S0954102002000615
Chavez FP, Ryan J, Lluch-Cota SE, Niquen M (2003) From anchovies to sardines and back: multidecadal change in the Pacific Ocean. Science 299:217–221. doi:10.1126/science.1075880
Dempsey DE, Langhorne PJ (2012) Geometric properties of platelet ice crystals. Cold Reg Sci Technol 78:1–13. doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2012.03.002
DeWitt HH (1970) The character of the midwater fish fauna of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. In: Holdgate MW (ed) Antarctic ecology, vol 1. Academic Press, London, pp 305–314
DeWitt HH, Tyler JC (1960) Fishes of the Stanford Antarctic Biological Research Program (1958–1959). Stanford Ichthyol Bull 7:162–199
DeWitt HH, Heemstra PC, Gon O (1990) Nototheniidae. In: Gon O, Heemstra PC (eds) Fishes of the Southern Ocean. JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown, pp 279–331
Duhamel G, Hulley PA, Causse R, Koubbi P, Vacchi M, Pruvost P, Vigetta S, Irisson JO, Mormède S, Belchier M, Dettai A, Detrich HW, Gutt J, Jones CD, Kock KH, Lopez Abellan LJ, Van de Putte AP (2014) Biogeographic patterns of fish. In: De Broyer C, Koubbi P (eds) Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Cambridge, pp 328–362
Eastman JT (1993) Antarctic fish biology: evolution in an unique environment. Academic Press, San Diego
Eastman JT (1997) Phyletic divergence and specialization for pelagic life in the Antarctic Notothenioid fish Pleuragramma antarcticum. Comp Biochem Phys A 118:1095–1101. doi:10.1016/S0300-9629(97)86798-9
Eastman JT (2005) The nature of the diversity of Antarctic fishes. Polar Biol 28:93–107. doi:10.1007/s00300-004-0667-4
Eschmeyer WN (2014) Catalog of Fishes. http://research.calacademy.org/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp. Accessed 27 August 2014
Evans CW, Williams DE, Vacchi M, Brimble MA, DeVries AL (2012) Metabolic and behavioural adaptations during early development of the Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum. Polar Biol 35:891–898. doi:10.1007/s00300-011-1134-7
Faleyeva TI, Gerasimchuk VV (1990) Features of reproduction in the Antarctic sidestripe, Pleuragramma antarcticum (Nototheniidae). J Ichthyol 30:67–79
Ferrando S, Hanchet S, Angiolillo M, Gambardella C, Pisano E, Vacchi M (2010) Insights into the life cycle of the Antarctic Silverfish. Reproduction features of the Ross Sea population. In: Proceedings of international polar year Oslo science conference, 8–12 June 2010, Oslo, Norway
Fuiman LA, Davis RW, Williams TM (2002) Behavior of midwater fishes under Antarctic ice: observations by a predator. Mar Biol 140:815–822. doi:10.1007/s00227-001-0752-y
Gerasimchuck VV (1986) Characteristics of Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum (Nototheniidae), from Olaf-Pruds Bay (Commonwealth Sea, Eastern Antarctica) with notes on the identification of the species. J Ichthyol 26:10–17
Giraldo C, Cherel Y, Vallet C, Mayzaud P, Tavernier E, Moteki M, Hosie G, Koubbi P (2011) Ontogenic changes in the feeding ecology of the early life stages of the Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) documented by stable isotopes and diet analysis in the Dumont d’Urville Sea (East Antarctica). Polar Sci 5:252–263. doi:10.1016/j.polar.2011.04.004
Granata A, Cubeta A, Gugliemo L, Sidoti O, Greco S, Vacchi M, La Mesa M (2002) Ichthyoplankton abundance and distribution in the Ross Sea during 1987–1996. Polar Biol 25:87–202. doi:10.1007/s00300-001-0326-y
Guglielmo L, Granata A, Greco S (1998) Distribution and abundance of postlarval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces, Nototheniidae) off Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica). Polar Biol 19:37–51. doi:10.1007/s003000050214
Guidetti P, Petrillo M, De Benedetto G, Albertelli G (2013) The use of otolith microchemistry to investigate spawning patterns of European anchovy: a case study in the eastern Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean). Fish Res 139:1–4
Hubold G (1984) Spatial distribution of Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces: Nototheniidae) near the Filchner-and Larsen ice shelves (Weddell sea/Antarctica). Polar Biol 3:231–236. doi:10.1007/BF00292628
Hubold G (1990) Seasonal patterns of ichthyoplankton distribution and abundance in the Southern Weddell Sea. In: Kerry KR, Hempel G (eds) Antarctic ecosystems: ecological change and conservation. Springer, Berlin, pp 149–158
Hubold G, Ekau W (1987) Midwater fish fauna of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. In: Kullander SO, Fernholm B (eds) Proceedings of the fifth congress of the european ichthyological society. Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, pp 391–396
Kellermann A (1987) Food and feeding ecology of postlarval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces; Notothenioidei) in the seasonal pack ice zone off the Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 7:307–315. doi:10.1007/BF00443949
Kellermann A (1989) The larval fish community in the zone of seasonal ice cover and its seasonal and interannual variability. Arch Fischereiweiss 39:89–109. doi:10.013/epic.12234
Kellermann A (1991) Eggs and larval drift of the Antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps. Cybium 15:199–210
Kock KH, Kellermann A (1991) Reproduction in Antarctic notothenioid fish. Antarct Sci 3:125–150. doi:10.1017/S0954102091000172
Koubbi P, Hureau JC, Vacchi M, White M (1997) Results of the preliminary survey on the coastal distribution of fish larvae in Adelie Land (Southern Ocean) during January–February 1996. Cybium 21:381–392
Koubbi P, O’Brien C, Loots C, Giraldo C, Smith M, Tavernier E, Vacchi M, Vallet C, Chevallier J, Moteki M (2011) Spatial distribution and inter-annual variations in the size frequency distribution and abundances of Pleuragramma antarcticum larvae in the Dumont d’Urville Sea from 2004 to 2010. Polar Sci 5:225–238. doi:10.1016/j.polar.2011.02.003
Kurtz DD, Bromwich DH (1983) Satellite observed behavior of the Terra Nova Bay polynya. J Geophys Res-Oceans 88:9717–9722. doi:10.1029/JC088iC14p09717
Kurtz DD, Bromwich DH (1985) A recurring, atmospherically forced polynya in Terra Nova Bay. In: Jacobs SS (ed) Oceanology of the Antarctic continental shelf. Antarctic Research Series 43, American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, pp 177–201
La Mesa M, Eastman JT (2012) Antarctic silverfish: life strategies of a key species in the high-Antarctic ecosystem. Fish Fish 13:241–266. doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2011.00427.x
La Mesa M, Eastman JT, Vacchi M (2004) The role of notothenioid fish in the food web of the Ross Sea shelf waters: a review. Polar Biol 27:321–338. doi:10.1007/s00300-004-0599-z
Leggett WC, Deblois E (1994) Recruitment in marine fishes: is it regulated by starvation and predation in the egg and larval stages? Ned J Sea Res 32:119–134. doi:10.1016/0077-7579(94)90036-1
Liu Q, Chen DG (1995) Length frequency analysis of Pleuragramma antarcticum, Electrona antarctica, Protomyctophum bolini. Chin J Oceanol Limnol 13:380–384. doi:10.1007/BF02889475
Massom RA, Stammerjohn SE (2010) Antarctic sea ice change and variability–Physical and ecological implications. Polar Sci 4:149–186. doi:10.1016/j.polar.2010.05.001
McGuinness MJ, Langhorne P (2006) A platelet puzzle in Antarctica. Proc KSIAM 2006 Annual Meeting, Nov 24–25, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea
Moline MA, Karnovsky NJ, Brown Z, Divoky GJ, Frazer TK, Jacoby CA, Torres JJ, Fraser WR (2008) High latitude changes in ice dynamics and their impact on polar marine ecosystems. Ann NY Acad Sci 1134:267–319. doi:10.1196/annals.1439.010
Morales-Nin B, Garcia MA, Lopez O (1998) Distribution of larval and juvenile Nototheniops larseni and Pleuragramma antarcticum off the Antarctic Peninsula in relation to oceanographic conditions. Cybium 22:69–81
O’Driscoll RL, Macaulay GJ, Gauthier S, Pinkerton M, Hanchet S (2011) Distribution, abundance and acoustic properties of Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) in the Ross Sea. Deep Sea Res II 58:181–195. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.05.018
Palomera I, Olivar MP, Salat J, Sabates A, Coll M, Garcia A, Morales-Nin B (2007) Small pelagic fish in the NW Mediterranean Sea: an ecological review. Progr Oceanogr 74:377–396. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2007.04.012
Regan CT (1916) Larval and postlarval fishes. British Antarctic (“Terra Nova”) Expedition 1910. Nat Hist Report Zool 1:125–156
Regoli F, Nigro M, Benedetti M, Fattorini D, Gorbi S (2005) Antioxidant efficiency in early life stages of the Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum: responsiveness to pro-oxidant conditions of platelet ice and chemical exposure. Aquat Toxicol 75:43–52. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2005.07.003
Schnack-Schiel SB, Dieckmann GS, Kattner G, Thomas DN (2004) Copepods in summer platelet ice in the eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Polar Biol 27:502–506. doi:10.1007/s00300-004-0613-5
Smith IJ, Langhorne PJ, Haskell TG, Joe Trodahl H, Frew R, Ross Vennell M (2001) Platelet ice and the land-fast sea ice of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Ann Glaciol 33:21–27. doi:10.3189/172756401781818365
Underwood AJ (1997) Experiments in ecology: Their logical design and interpretations using analysis of variance. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 504
Underwood AJ, Chapman MG, Connell SD (2000) Observations in ecology: you can’t make progress on processes without understanding the patterns. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 250:97–115. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(00)00181-7
Vacchi M, La Mesa M, Greco S (1999) Summer distribution and abundance of larval and juvenile fishes in the western Ross Sea. Antarct Sci 11:54–60. doi:10.1017/S0954102099000085
Vacchi M, La Mesa M, Dalù M, Macdonald J (2004) Early life stages in the life cycle of Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarcticum in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea. Antarct Sci 16:299–305. doi:10.1017/s095410200400215
Vacchi M, DeVries AL, Evans CW, Bottaro M, Ghigliotti L, Cutroneo L, Pisano E (2012a) A nursery area for the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum at Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea): first estimate of distribution and abundance of eggs and larvae under the seasonal sea-ice. Polar Biol 35:1573–1585. doi:10.1007/s00300-012-1199-y
Vacchi M, Koubbi P, Ghigliotti L, Pisano E (2012b) Sea-ice interactions with polar fish focus on the antarctic silverfish life history. In: Verde C, di Prisco G (eds) Adaptation and evolution in marine environments, from pole to pole series. Springer, Berlin, pp 51–73. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-27352-0-4
Van Woert ML (1999) Wintertime dynamics of the Terra Nova Bay polynya. J Geophys Res 104:1169–7753. doi:10.1029/1999JC900003
Acknowledgments
This work was carried out within the project ‘Vulnerability of polar fishes to climate change: life cycle, habitats and sea-ice relationship of the species P. antarcticum,’ supported by Italian National Programme for Research in Antarctica (PNRA project 2010/A1.11). We wish to thank the entire staff of the Italian Antarctic Base ‘Mario Zucchelli,’ but in particular Davide Riga, Luciano Sartori and Luca De Santis for their invaluable technical/logistical support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guidetti, P., Ghigliotti, L. & Vacchi, M. Insights into spatial distribution patterns of early stages of the Antarctic silverfish, Pleuragramma antarctica, in the platelet ice of Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. Polar Biol 38, 333–342 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1589-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-014-1589-4