Physiological rates during development of marine invertebrates in temperate and polar oceans ...

• Main Author: Ginsburg, David Ward author
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL) 2015
• Subjects: Biology degree program; Doctor of Philosophy degree; College of Letters, Arts and Sciences school; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m288; https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset-management/2A3BF1F7NEO8

The goal of this dissertation was to investigate the nutritional and physiological state of benthic marine invertebrates from both temperate and polar habitats. In Chapter 1, larvae of the temperate sea urchin Lytechinus pictus reared in the field were compared to those reared on cultured phytoplankton diets in the laboratory. A biochemical index of physiological state was established using an in situ culturing system and measurements of protein synthesis to define the nutritional status of larvae growing in the ocean. Protein synthesis rates for larvae reared in the field were ~50% less than larvae fed at near-maximal physiological capacities in the laboratory. Research presented in Chapter 2 focused on the physiological and metabolic requirements of early development in the Antarctic asteroids Acodontaster hodgsoni and Odontaster meridionalis. Despite differences in egg size and developmental mode, A. hodgsoni and O. meridionalis maintained high rates of protein synthesis while sustaining a low metabolic ...