Suspended paticulate matter and respiration experiments of Laternula elliptica in Potter Cove, King George Island, Western Antarctic Peninsula

Recent rapid changes of air temperature on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula results in increased sediment discharge and ice scouring frequencies in coastal regions. These changes are bound to especially affect slow growing, sessile filter feeders such as the Antarctic bivalve, Laternula e...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Philipp, Eva E R, Husmann, Gunnar, Abele, Doris
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2011
Subjects:
AWI
Bottle
Niskin
Carlini/Jubany Station
IMCOAST/IMCONet
Impact of climate induced glacier melt on marine coastal systems
Antarctica
International Polar Year (2007-2008)
IPY
Jubany_Dallmann
NIS
PotterCove_L1
PotterCove_L2
PotterCove_L3
Potter Cove
King George Island
Antarctic Peninsula
Priority Programme 1158 Antarctic Research with Comparable Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas
SPP1158
Antarctic
Arctic
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Iceberg*
International Polar Year
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.746016
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.746016
Description
Summary:Recent rapid changes of air temperature on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula results in increased sediment discharge and ice scouring frequencies in coastal regions. These changes are bound to especially affect slow growing, sessile filter feeders such as the Antarctic bivalve, Laternula elliptica, a long-lived and abundant key species with circumpolar distribution. We investigated the effect of sedimentation and ice scouring on small/young and large/old individuals at two closely located stations, distinctly influenced by both types of disturbance. Small individuals dealt better with disturbance in terms of their respiratory response to sediment exposure, reburrowing ability, and survival after injury, compared to larger animals. At the more disturbed station L. elliptica population density was lower, but larger animals reburrowed faster after iceberg disturbance and reduced their metabolic rate under strong sediment coverage, compared to larger animals of the less disturbed station, indicating that an adaptation or learning response to both types of disturbance may be possible. Smaller individuals were not influenced. Laternula elliptica seems capable of coping with the rapidly changing environmental conditions. Due to a decrease in population density and mean population lifespan, L. elliptica could however lose its key role in the bentho-pelagic carbon flux in areas of high sediment deposition.

Similar Items