Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Morphological Adaptations and Mode of Life in High Antarctic Fish

  • Conference paper
Biology of Antarctic Fish

Abstract

The Antarctic Ocean is characterized by a circumpolar system of currents and hydrographic fronts. This causes a high transport of water masses between east and west, but reduces exchange mechanisms in the upper 1000-m water column in a north-south direction. Thus the Antarctic Convergence is a great barrier for pelagic organisms, except birds and mammals. For benthic animals, the deep-sea basins form a border in distribution. This hydrographic and topographic isolation of the Antarctic Continent resulted in a very high percentage of endemism in different taxonomic groups. Eighty-eight percent of the fish species and 76% of the genera are endemic to the Antarctic Ocean (Andriashev 1987). Values for other benthic groups range between 60 and 90% (Hempel 1985).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alexander RM (1967) Functional design in fishes. Hutchinson, London; 160 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Aleyev YG (1969) Function and gross morphology in fish. Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem

    Google Scholar 

  • Aleyev YG (1977) Nekton. Junk, The Hague; 435 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen NC (1984) Genera and subfamilies of the family Nototheniidae from the Antarctic and Subantarctic. Steenstrupia 10(1):1–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Andriashev AP (1987) A general review of the antarctic bottom fish fauna. In: Kullander SO, Fernholm B (ed) Proc V Congr Europ Ichthyol, Stockholm 1985; pp 357–372

    Google Scholar 

  • Barel CDN (1983) Towards a constructional morphology of cichild fishes (Teleostei, Perciformes). Neth J Zool 33(4):357–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barel CDN (1984) Form-relations in the context of constructional morphology: the eye and suspensorium of lacustrine Cichlidae (Pisces, Teleostei). Neth J Zool 34(4):439–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burchett MS (1983) The life cycle of Notothenia rossii from South Georgia. Bull Br Antarctic Surv 61:71–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis WP, Birdsong RS (1973) Coral reef fishes which forage in the water column. Helgo Wiss Meeresunters 24:292–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeWitt HH (1970) The character of the midwater fish fauna of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. In: Holdgate(ed) Antarctic Ecology, vol 11. Academic Press, London, pp 305–314

    Google Scholar 

  • DeWitt HH (1971) Coastal and deep-water benthic fishes of the Antarctic. Antarctic Map Folio Ser, Folio 15:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman JT (1976) The caudal skeleton of antarctic fishes (family Nototheniidae). Anat Rec 184(3):582

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman JT (1985) The evolution of neutrally buoyant notothenioid fishes: their specializations and potential interactions in the antarctic marine food web. In: Siegfried WR, Condy PR, Laws RM(eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo, pp 430–436

    Google Scholar 

  • Eastman JT, DeVries AL (1982) Buoyancy studies of notothenioid fishes in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Copeia 2:385–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eastman JT, DeVries AL (1985) Adaptations for cryopelagic life in the antarctic notothenioid fish Pagothenia borchgrevinki. Polar Biol 4(1):45–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eastman JT, Grande L (1989) Evolution of the antarctic fish fauna with emphasis on the recent notothenioids. In: Crame JA (ed) Origins and evolution of the antarctic biota. Geol Soc. Spec. Publ.47:241–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekau W (1988) Ecomorphology of nototheniid fish from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Ber Polarforsch 51:140 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekau W (1990) Demersal fish fauna of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Ant Sci 2(2): 129–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flury B, Riedwyl H (1983) Angewandte multivariate Statistik. Fischer, Stuttgart, 187 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Fricke R (1982) Modifizierung und Anwendung von McCunes Körperform-Meßsystem für rezente benthische Fische (Pisces). Braunschw Naturk Schr 1(3):533–559

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatz AJ (1979) Ecological morphology of freshwater stream fishes. Tulane Stud Zool Bot 21:91–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosline WA (1971) Functional morphology and classification of teleosteen fishes. University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 208 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Grobe H (1986) Spätpleistozäne Sedimentationsprozesse am antarktischen Kontinentalhang vor Kapp Norvegia, östliche Weddell-See. Ber Polarforsch 27, 120 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Hempel G (1985) On the biology of polar seas, particularly the Southern Ocean. In: Gray JS, Christiansen ME (eds) Marine biology of polar regions and the effects of stress on marine organisms. Wiley, London, pp 3–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Heywood RB, Light JJ (1975) First direct evidence of life under antarctic shelf ice. Nature (Lond) 254:591–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubold G (1985) On the early life history of the high antarctic fish Pleuragramma antarcticum. In: Siegfried WR, Condy PR, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo, pp 445–451

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubold G, Ekau W (1987) Midwater fish fauna of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. In: Kullander SO, Fernholm B (eds) Proc V Congr Europ Ichthyol, Stockholm 1985, pp 391–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes TJ (1981) Numerical reconstruction of palaeo ice sheets. In: Denton GH, Hughes TJ (eds) The last great ice sheets. Wiley and Sons, New York; pp 221–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Hureau JC (1970) Biologie comparée dec quelques poissons antarctiques (Nototheniidae). Bull Inst Oceanogr Monaco 68(2391): 1–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellermann A (1986) Zur Biologie der Jugendstadien der Notothenioidei (Pisces) an der antarktischen Halbinsel. Ber Polarforsch 31:148 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer E (1960) Zur Form und Funktion des Lokomotionsapparates der Fische. Z Wiss Zool 163:1–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahon R (1984) Divergent structure in fish taxocenes of north temperate streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 41(2):330–350

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCune AM (1981) Quantitative description of body form in fishes: implications for species level taxonomy and ecological inference. Copeia 1981(4):897–900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller RG (1987) Origins and pathways possible for fishes of the Antarctic Ocean. in: Kullander SO, Fernholm B (eds) Proc V Congr Europ Ichthyol, Stockholm 1985; pp 373–380

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreno CA (1980) Observation on food and reproduction in Trematomus bernacchii from the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica. Copeia 1:171–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moyle PB, Cech JJ (1982) Fishes: an introduction to ichthyology. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs 593 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Norman JR (1938) Coast fishes Part III: The antarctic zone. Discovery Rep 18:1–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Ojeda FP (1986) Morphological characterization of the alimentary tract of antarctic fishes and its relation to feeding habits. Polar Biol 5:125–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regan CT (1914) Fishes, British Antarctic (“Terra Nova”) Expedition 1910. Nat Hist Rep Zool I:1–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzbach W (1988) The demersal fish fauna of the eastern and southern Weddell Sea: geographical distribution, feeding of fishes and their trophic position in the food web. Ber Polarforsch 54:94 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Slewing R (ed) (1980) Lehrbuch der Zoologie, Bd 1 Allgemeine Zoologie, 3. Aufl. Fischer Stuttgart, 910 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Slosarczyk W (1983) Preliminary estimation of abundance of juvenile Nototheniidae and Channichthyidae within krill swarms east of South Georgia. Acta Ichthyol Piscatoria XIII(1):3–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Slosarczyk W (1986) Attempts at a quantitative estimate by trawl sampling of distribution of post-larval and juvenile notothenioids (Pisces, Perciformes) in relation to environmental conditions in the Antarctic Peninsula region during SIBEX 1983–84. Men Natl Inst Polar Res Spec Issue 40:299–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi M (1983) Tronic ecology of demersal fish community north of the South Shetland Islands, with notes on the ecological role of the krill. In:Nemoto T, Matsuda T (eds) Proc of the Biomass Colloqium in 1982. Mem Natl Inst Polar Res Spec Issue 27:183–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi M, Nemoto T (1984) The food of the antarctic fish in the Wertern Ross Sea in Summer 1979. Polar Biol 3:237–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Targett TE (1981) Trophic ecology and structure of coastal antarctic fish communities. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 4:243–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiedtke JE, Kock K-H (1989) Structure and composition of the demersal fish fauna around Elephant Island. Arch Fischwiss 39 Beih 1:143–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Voskoboinikova OS (1980) Visceral skeleton changes in the process of turning to pelagic mode of life in fishes of the family Nototheniidae. (russ). Akad Nauk SSSR, Zool Inst Trudy, 114:67–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Voskoboinikova OS (1982) Reduction of the pterygoid bones of the visceral skeleton during evolution of the suborder Notothenioidei (Perciformes). J Ichthyol 22(5): 105–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson DJ, Balon EK (1984) Ecomorphological analysis of fish taxocenes in rainforest streams of northern Borneo. J Fish Biol 25:371–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb PW (1977) Effects of median-fin amputation on fast-start performance of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). J Exp Biol 68:123–135

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams R (1985) Trophic relationships between pelagic fish and euphausiids in antarctic waters. In: Siegfried WR, Condy PR, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo, pp 452–459

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, D-2850, Bremerhaven, Germany

    W. Ekau

Authors
  1. W. Ekau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Protein Biochemistry and Enzymology (IBPE), Italian National Research Council, Via Marconi 10, I-80125, Naples, Italy

    Guido di Prisco

  2. International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, CNR, I-80125, Naples, Italy

    Bruno Maresca

  3. University of Calabria, I-87030, Arcavacata di Rende (CS), Italy

    Bruno Tota

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1991 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Ekau, W. (1991). Morphological Adaptations and Mode of Life in High Antarctic Fish. In: di Prisco, G., Maresca, B., Tota, B. (eds) Biology of Antarctic Fish. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76217-8_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76217-8_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-76219-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-76217-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation