Adaptation and stress defence in intertidal and subtidal Antarctic limpets (Nacella concinna):A study of the plasticity of molecular and biochemical stress response in Antarctic invertebrates

• Main Author: Weihe, Ellen
• Other Authors: Abele, Doris, Dringen, Ralf
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universität Bremen 2010
• Subjects: Antarctic limpets; invertebrates; physiology; molecular biology; biochemistry; shell morphology; oxidative stress; water loss; hypoxia; air exposure; hypoxia inducible factor (HIF); marine biology; 570; 570 Life sciences; biology; ddc:570; Antarctic; Nacella; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarktis*
• Online Access: https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/handle/elib/2795; https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-diss000118608

In the summer months, a subpopulation of the Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna migrates into the intertidal zone, which becomes increasingly ice-free and expands by glacier retreat due to global warming. Animals inhabiting intertidal zones are air exposed twice a day during low tide while sub-littoral animals are always covered by water. Intertidal and permanently sub-littoral N. concinna can easily be distinguished by their shell morphology. To test whether these morphological differences are accompanied by a physiological adaptation to the intertidal environment, I investigated the biochemical and molecular response of both limpet subpopulations to air exposure and hypoxia, a possible result of desiccation, if the limpets clamp down their shell to the substratum to avoid water loss. The results obtained within my thesis clearly indicate a physiological and molecular adaptation of the intertidal N. concinna to desiccation stress which the sub-littoral limpets do not show. These adaptations enable the limpets to survive in this extreme environment and will potentially allow the repopulation of emerging areas due to glacier retreat.