Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids
The extreme and constant cold of the Southern Ocean has led to many unusual features of the Antarctic fauna. One of these, polar gigantism, is thought to have arisen from a combination of cold-driven low metabolic rates and high oxygen availability in the polar oceans (the ‘oxygen–temperature hypoth...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 2024-06-02T07:56:33+00:00 Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids Shishido, Caitlin M. Woods, H. Arthur Lane, Steven J. Toh, Ming Wei A. Tobalske, Bret W. Moran, Amy L. Division of Polar Programs 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 286, issue 1900, page 20190124 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2019 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 2024-05-07T14:16:53Z The extreme and constant cold of the Southern Ocean has led to many unusual features of the Antarctic fauna. One of these, polar gigantism, is thought to have arisen from a combination of cold-driven low metabolic rates and high oxygen availability in the polar oceans (the ‘oxygen–temperature hypothesis'). If the oxygen–temperature hypothesis indeed underlies polar gigantism, then polar giants may be particularly susceptible to warming temperatures. We tested the effects of temperature on performance using two genera of giant Antarctic sea spiders (Pycnogonida), Colossendeis and Ammothea , across a range of body sizes. We tested performance at four temperatures spanning ambient (−1.8°C) to 9°C. Individuals from both genera were highly sensitive to elevated temperature, but we found no evidence that large-bodied pycnogonids were more affected by elevated temperatures than small individuals; thus, these results do not support the predictions of the oxygen–temperature hypothesis. When we compared two species, Colossendeis megalonyx and Ammothea glacialis , C. megalonyx maintained performance at considerably higher temperatures. Analysis of the cuticle showed that as body size increases, porosity increases as well, especially in C. megalonyx , which may compensate for the increasing metabolic demand and longer diffusion distances of larger animals by facilitating diffusive oxygen supply. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean The Royal Society Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286 1900 20190124 |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
The extreme and constant cold of the Southern Ocean has led to many unusual features of the Antarctic fauna. One of these, polar gigantism, is thought to have arisen from a combination of cold-driven low metabolic rates and high oxygen availability in the polar oceans (the ‘oxygen–temperature hypothesis'). If the oxygen–temperature hypothesis indeed underlies polar gigantism, then polar giants may be particularly susceptible to warming temperatures. We tested the effects of temperature on performance using two genera of giant Antarctic sea spiders (Pycnogonida), Colossendeis and Ammothea , across a range of body sizes. We tested performance at four temperatures spanning ambient (−1.8°C) to 9°C. Individuals from both genera were highly sensitive to elevated temperature, but we found no evidence that large-bodied pycnogonids were more affected by elevated temperatures than small individuals; thus, these results do not support the predictions of the oxygen–temperature hypothesis. When we compared two species, Colossendeis megalonyx and Ammothea glacialis , C. megalonyx maintained performance at considerably higher temperatures. Analysis of the cuticle showed that as body size increases, porosity increases as well, especially in C. megalonyx , which may compensate for the increasing metabolic demand and longer diffusion distances of larger animals by facilitating diffusive oxygen supply. |
author2 |
Division of Polar Programs |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Shishido, Caitlin M. Woods, H. Arthur Lane, Steven J. Toh, Ming Wei A. Tobalske, Bret W. Moran, Amy L. |
spellingShingle |
Shishido, Caitlin M. Woods, H. Arthur Lane, Steven J. Toh, Ming Wei A. Tobalske, Bret W. Moran, Amy L. Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids |
author_facet |
Shishido, Caitlin M. Woods, H. Arthur Lane, Steven J. Toh, Ming Wei A. Tobalske, Bret W. Moran, Amy L. |
author_sort |
Shishido, Caitlin M. |
title |
Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids |
title_short |
Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids |
title_full |
Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids |
title_fullStr |
Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in Antarctic pycnogonids |
title_sort |
polar gigantism and the oxygen–temperature hypothesis: a test of upper thermal limits to body size in antarctic pycnogonids |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 286, issue 1900, page 20190124 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0124 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
286 |
container_issue |
1900 |
container_start_page |
20190124 |
_version_ |
1800756898032517120 |