A survival pack for escaping predation in the open ocean? Amphipod-pteropod associations in the Antarctic Polar Frontal zone and the Weddell Sea
Hyperiid amphipod crustaceans are abundant in Southern Ocean waters from the Polar Frontal Zone to shelf waters where they represent a major prey for fish and seabirds. Hyperiella dilatata has evolved a peculiar anti-predatory behaviour: it abducts chemically-protected, shell-less pteropods from the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Conference Object |
| Language: | unknown |
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Berichte zur Polar-und Meeresforschung
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/52256/ https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.8083f6a1-b9fa-42be-8b0a-2bbad6ee0283 |
| Summary: | Hyperiid amphipod crustaceans are abundant in Southern Ocean waters from the Polar Frontal Zone to shelf waters where they represent a major prey for fish and seabirds. Hyperiella dilatata has evolved a peculiar anti-predatory behaviour: it abducts chemically-protected, shell-less pteropods from the water column and carries them on their dorsal side. Pteropods such as Clione antarctica are known to produce de novo a predator-deterrent chemical. Hence, the tandem formation of amphipods, abducting pteropods from the water column, represents an efficient protection from visual predators. This phenomenon was known from shelf waters around the continent, however, in the open ocean it was so far undocumented. We report this association at four different open-water sites in the Southern Ocean. Molecular analyses based on COI “barcode” sequences revealed that one Hyperiella lineage abducted Spongiobranchaea pteropods in the Polar Frontal Zone whilst a distinct Hyperiella lineage associates with Clione further south in the Weddell Sea. Hypotheses on the origin and function of these species-specific associations are provided in the context of biogeographic data and hyperiid phylogenetic histories. |
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