Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia
South Georgia, an extremely isolated island within the Antarctic Convergence, was covered by an extensive icecap until ~10,000 years ago. In consequence the depauperate intertidal fauna is of recent origin and consists almost entirely of brooders or direct developers which probably arrived as a resu...
Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
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Cambridge University Press
1996
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/515017/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:515017 2023-05-15T14:02:21+02:00 Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia Davenport, John Macalister, Hector 1996-11 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/515017/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 unknown Cambridge University Press Davenport, John; Macalister, Hector. 1996 Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 76 (4). 985-1002. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 1996 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 2023-02-10T00:01:46Z South Georgia, an extremely isolated island within the Antarctic Convergence, was covered by an extensive icecap until ~10,000 years ago. In consequence the depauperate intertidal fauna is of recent origin and consists almost entirely of brooders or direct developers which probably arrived as a result of rafting. Environmental conditions between the tidemarks are comparable with northern Norway and Greenland, so the absence of mussels and barnacles is due to isolation from the nearest feasible sources of colonization (the Falkland Islands and Magellan), and not to a hostile environment. Intertidal animals (eight species studied) have median upper lethal temperatures that are positively and linearly related to maximum height of distribution on the shore. Thermal niche width (median upper lethal temperature minus median lower lethal temperature) is also positively correlated with maximum height of distribution on the shore with species below mid-tide level having narrow niches in contrast to species above mid-tide level that have wide niches. There is no relationship between freezing resistance and position on the shore. Salinity and desiccation tolerances were also greater in animal species from the upper shore than in those from the lower shore. In the case of those species also studied elsewhere (Lasaea rubra (Mollusca: Bivalvia); Nacella condnna (Mollusca: Gastropoda) and Tigriopus sp. (Crustacea: Copepoda)), evidence is presented to show that no special adaptation is exhibited by South Georgian animals, and that upper zonation limits are controlled primarily by physical tolerance. This is particularly marked in the case of N. condnna which has similar thermal tolerances on the Antarctic Peninsula, on Signy Island and at South Georgia; in consequence it can only inhabit the extreme lower shore at South Georgia, yet penetrates to mid-tide level at Signy Island. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Greenland Northern Norway Signy Island Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Greenland Nacella ENVELOPE(-60.783,-60.783,-62.467,-62.467) Norway Signy Island ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) The Antarctic Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 76 4 985 1002 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
description |
South Georgia, an extremely isolated island within the Antarctic Convergence, was covered by an extensive icecap until ~10,000 years ago. In consequence the depauperate intertidal fauna is of recent origin and consists almost entirely of brooders or direct developers which probably arrived as a result of rafting. Environmental conditions between the tidemarks are comparable with northern Norway and Greenland, so the absence of mussels and barnacles is due to isolation from the nearest feasible sources of colonization (the Falkland Islands and Magellan), and not to a hostile environment. Intertidal animals (eight species studied) have median upper lethal temperatures that are positively and linearly related to maximum height of distribution on the shore. Thermal niche width (median upper lethal temperature minus median lower lethal temperature) is also positively correlated with maximum height of distribution on the shore with species below mid-tide level having narrow niches in contrast to species above mid-tide level that have wide niches. There is no relationship between freezing resistance and position on the shore. Salinity and desiccation tolerances were also greater in animal species from the upper shore than in those from the lower shore. In the case of those species also studied elsewhere (Lasaea rubra (Mollusca: Bivalvia); Nacella condnna (Mollusca: Gastropoda) and Tigriopus sp. (Crustacea: Copepoda)), evidence is presented to show that no special adaptation is exhibited by South Georgian animals, and that upper zonation limits are controlled primarily by physical tolerance. This is particularly marked in the case of N. condnna which has similar thermal tolerances on the Antarctic Peninsula, on Signy Island and at South Georgia; in consequence it can only inhabit the extreme lower shore at South Georgia, yet penetrates to mid-tide level at Signy Island. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Davenport, John Macalister, Hector |
spellingShingle |
Davenport, John Macalister, Hector Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia |
author_facet |
Davenport, John Macalister, Hector |
author_sort |
Davenport, John |
title |
Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia |
title_short |
Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia |
title_full |
Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia |
title_fullStr |
Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia |
title_sort |
environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at husvik, south georgia |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/515017/ https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.783,-60.783,-62.467,-62.467) ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Greenland Nacella Norway Signy Island The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Greenland Nacella Norway Signy Island The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Greenland Northern Norway Signy Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Greenland Northern Norway Signy Island |
op_relation |
Davenport, John; Macalister, Hector. 1996 Environmental conditions and physiological tolerances of intertidal fauna in relation to shore zonation at Husvik, South Georgia. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 76 (4). 985-1002. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400040923 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
76 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
985 |
op_container_end_page |
1002 |
_version_ |
1766272568220712960 |