Abstract
Analyses of stomach contents of 121 adultOphiosparte gigas Koehler 1922, collected along the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in 1981–1983, show that this species is an active predator and scavenger whose diet consists of representatives of at least 10 phyla. The top five prey groups are sponges, ophiuroids, bivalves, polychaetes and crustaceans by percentage frequency of occurrence, and ophiuroids, bivalves, polychaetes, amphipods and sponges by fullness relative volume. Rankings of prey by various frequency and volume measures vary among different sites suggesting thatOphiosparte gigas is an opportunistic feeder. Significant differences in diet, feeding behavior and morphological characteristics related to feeding, and others, including composition of the integument and structure of the oral and dental plates, show the conventional placement of the monotypic genusOphiosparte in the Ophiacanthidae is not justified. We suggest placement in the Ophiomyxidae but formal designation within a subfamily must await a thorough revision of the suborder Ophiomyxina.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnaud PM (1964) Echinodermes littoraux de Terre Adelie (Holothuries exceptées) et Pélécypodes commensaux d'Echinides antarctiques. Exp. pol. Françaises, Paris
Arnaud PM (1970) Frequency and ecological significance of necrophagy among the benthic species of Antarctic coastal waters. In: Holdgate MW (ed) Antarctic ecology, vol 1. Academic Press, London, pp 259–266
Arnaud PM (1974) Contribution a la bionomie marine benthique des régions Antarctiques et Sub-antarctiques. Téthys 6:465–656
Bellisio N, Tomo A (1974) Biogeografia de la Peninsula Antartica, archipielagos y mares adyacentes.Armada Argentina, Servicio de Hidrografia Naval, Buenos Aires
Berkman PA (1994) Epizoic zonation on growing scallop shells in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 179:49–67
Bernasconi I, D'Agostino MM (1974) Equinodermos Antarticos III. Ofiuroideos 1. Ofiuroideos del extremo norte de la Peninsula Antartica. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires. Hidrobiologia 4:81–133
Byrne M, Hendler G (1988) Arm structures of the ophiomyxid brittlestars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea: Ophiomyxidae). In: Burke RD et al. (eds) Echinoderm biology. Proc Sixth Int Echinoderm Conference. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 687–695
Dayton PK (1990) Polar benthos. In Smith WO Jr (ed) Polar oceanography, part B: chemistry, biology, and geology. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 631–685
Dayton PK, Mordida BJ, Bacon F (1994) Polar marine communities. Am Zool 34:90–99
Dearborn JH (1977) Foods and feeding characteristics of Antarctic asteroids and ophiuroids. In: Llano G (ed) Adaptations within Antarctic ecosystems. Proc 3rd SCAR Symp Antarct Biol. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, pp 293–326
Dearborn JH, Ferrari FD, Edwards KC (1986) Can pelagic aggregations cause benthic satiation? Feeding biology of the antarctic brittle starAstrotoma agassizii (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea). In: Kornicker L (ed) Biology of the Antarctic seas XVII, Antarct Res Ser 44. American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, pp 1–28
Dearborn JH, Edwards KC, Fratt DB (1991) Diet, feeding behavior, and surface morphology of the multi-armed Antarctic sea starLabidiaster annulatus (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 77:65–84
Dell R (1972) Antarctic benthos. Adv Mar Biol 10:1–216
Fell HB (1961) The fauna of the Ross Sea. 1. Ophiuroidea. NZ Dep Sci Ind Res Bull 142:1–79
Fell HB (1966) The ecology of ophiuroids. In: Boolootian RA (ed) Physiology of Echinodermata. Interscience, New York, pp 129–143
Fell HB, Holzinger T, Sherraden M (1969) Ophiuroidea. In: Bushnell VC, Hedgpeth JW (eds) Antarctic Map Folio Series, Folio 11. American Geographical Society, New York, pp 42–43
Ferrari FD, Dearborn JH (1989) A second examination of predation on pelagic copepods by the brittle starAstrotoma agassizii. J Plankton Res 11:1315–1320
Fratt DB, Dearborn JH (1984) Feeding biology of the Antarctic brittle starOphionotus victoriae (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea). Polar Biol 3:127–139
Koehler R (1922) Ophiures. Australas Antarct Exped 1911–14 Sci Rep Ser C VIII:1–98
Matsumoto H (1917) A monograph of Japanese Ophiurodea, arranged according to a new classification. J Coll Sci Imp Univ Tokyo 38:1–408
McClintock JB (1994) Trophic biology of Antarctic shallow-water echinoderms. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 111:191–202
McClintock JB, Pearse JS (1987) Biochemical composition of Antarctic echinoderms. Comp Biochem Physiol 86B:683–687
Mortensen TH (1925) On a small collection of echinoderms from the Antarctic Sea. Ark Zool 17a:1–12
Mortensen TH (1936) Echinoidea and Ophiuroidea. Discovery Rep 12:199–348
Murakami S (1963) The dental and oral plates of Ophiuroidea. R Soc NZ Trans 4:1–48
Paterson GLJ (1985) The deep-sea Ophiuroidea of the North Atlantic Ocean. Bull Br Mus Nat Hist Zool 49:1–162
Pearse JS (1994) Cold-water echinoderms break “Thorson's Rule”. In: Young CM, Eckelbarger JK (eds) Reproduction, larval biology, and recruitment of the deep-sea benthos. Columbia University Press, New York, pp 26–43
Picken GB (1985) Marine habitats — benthos. In: Bonner WN, Walton DWH (eds) Key environments — Antarctica. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 154–172
Presler P (1986) Necrophagous invertebrates of the Admiralty Bay of King George Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Pol Polar Res 7:25–61
Smith AB (1980) Stereom microstructure of the echinoid test. Spec Pap Palaeontol 25:1–81
Spencer WK, Wright CW (1966) Asterozoans. In: Moore RC (ed) Treatise on invertebrate palaeontology, Part U, Echinodermata 3. Geological Society of America, New York, and University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, pp U4-U107
Warner G (1982) Food and feeding mechanisms: Ophiuroidea. In: Jangoux M, Lawrence JM (eds) Echinoderm nutrition. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 161–181
White MG (1984) Marine benthos. In: Laws RM (ed) Antarctic ecology, vol 2. Academic Press, London, pp 421–461
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dearborn, J.H., Hendler, G. & Edwards, K.C. The diet ofOphiosparte gigas (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) along the Antarctic Peninsula, with comments on its taxonomic status. Polar Biol 16, 309–320 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02342177
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02342177