Abstract
The thecosome pteropods Limacina helicina and L. retroversa are important contributors to the zooplankton community in high-latitude environments but little is known about their distribution and life cycle under polar conditions. We collected the early life stages (< 1 mm) of the thecosome population in 2012 and 2013 at a bi-weekly to monthly resolution in fjord highly influenced by Arctic waters as well as Atlantic inflows (Adventfjorden, Svalbard, 78°N), together with environmental parameters. L. retroversa only occurred episodically, in association with the inflow of Atlantic water, with low numbers and random size distributions. This suggests that this boreal species does not fulfill its life cycle in Adventfjorden. In contrast, young specimens of L. helicina were present during the entire study. Veligers hatched in late summer/autumn and measured 0.14 mm on average. They grew with rates of 0.0006 mm day−1 over the 10–11 months of development. Only thereafter, growth accelerated by one order of magnitude and maximal rates were reached in autumn (0.0077 mm day−1). Our results indicate that L. helicina reaches a size of 1 mm after approximately 1.5 years in Adventfjorden. We therefore suggest that L. helicina overwinters the first year as a small juvenile and that it needs at least 2 years to reach an adult size of 5 mm in Adventfjorden. This reveals an complex and delicate aspect of the life-cycle of L. helicina and further research is needed to determine if it makes the population especially vulnerable towards climate changes.
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Acknowledgements
The research presented herein was part of L.B.’s PhD thesis at Bremen University in 2017. We are grateful for the UNIS logistical support in field, to Prof. Tove M. Gabrielsen for inviting us to take part in her IsA time series field campaign and Dr. Anna Vader and Dr. Miriam Marquardt for sharing chlorophyll a data. Thanks go to the logistic team of UNIS for their excellent support in Longyearbyen and during the field campaigns of 2012 and 2013. Many thanks go to Silke Lischka, who provided additional samples for genetic examination. The study was partially funded by the Research Council of Norway (Arctic Field Grant, Svalbard Science Forum, project ID 235913/E10 and CLEOPATRA II, project ID 216537/E10) and the Helmholtz Graduate School for Polar and Marine Research. DNA extraction and sequencing was funded by the DFG grant to P.D. Dr.Michael Schroedl (DFG SCHR667/15-1). We would like to thank Silke Lischka, Brian P.V. Hunt and one additional anonymous referee for their valuable reviews, which helped to considerably improve the quality of the manuscript.
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LB, JES and BN conceived the study based on field observations performed by JES and ES on the entire mesozooplankton community. PK performed molecular analyses with the help of MS and wrote the corresponding section of material and methods. LB analyzed the pteropod distribution as well as the meteorological data, with help of BN, MG and JES. LB, BE and BN interpreted the data, wrote the manuscript and revised it. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Boissonnot, L., Kohnert, P., Ehrenfels, B. et al. Year-round population dynamics of Limacina spp. early stages in a high-Arctic fjord (Adventfjorden, Svalbard). Polar Biol 44, 1605–1618 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02904-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02904-6