Larvae in the Dark: Evidence of Diverse and Functionally Active Meroplankton Communities in an Arctic Fjord during the Polar Night.

IF 2.1 4区 生物学 Q2 BIOLOGY
Biological Bulletin Pub Date : 2024-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-06-04 DOI:10.1086/736174
Kharis Schrage, Kirstin S Meyer-Kaiser
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Abstract

AbstractIn the high Arctic polar night, the sun remains below the horizon for a period ranging from several weeks to 6 months, providing insufficient solar radiation for photosynthesis to support the marine ecosystem. Despite this, recent studies have found evidence of active feeding, growth, and reproduction in multiple marine organisms during this period. Here, we describe the polar night diversity and activity levels of early pelagic life stages of benthic invertebrates (meroplankton), a group that has historically been largely overlooked. We assessed the taxa richness, reproductive and developmental biology, feeding, and competence to settle of meroplanktonic larvae in January 2023 in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, using plankton tows, experiments, and DNA bar coding. Although meroplankton densities were lower than in other seasons, DNA bar coding allowed us to assess richness, which was much higher than other studies and seasons, with 48 unique taxa belonging to six phyla observed. Most were planktotrophic (feeding) larvae. Using laboratory assays and direct observations, we documented feeding in several of these planktotrophic larvae, including bryozoan cyphonautes, bivalve veligers, and an ophiuroid pluteus. We found numerous embryos, suggesting that several taxa are actively reproducing in the polar night. We observed settlement in two polychaete taxa in the laboratory, as well as metamorphosed echinoderms in our samples, showing competency to settle across phyla. Overall, we show that early life-history stages of a diverse range of benthic invertebrates are actively feeding and developing during the polar night. Further targeted research should focus on the polar night to better understand seasonal patterns in reproduction and development.

黑暗中的幼虫:极夜期间北极峡湾浮游生物群落多样性和功能活跃的证据。
在北极高纬度极夜,太阳在地平线以下停留数周至6个月,为支持海洋生态系统的光合作用提供的太阳辐射不足。尽管如此,最近的研究已经发现了这一时期多种海洋生物积极进食、生长和繁殖的证据。在这里,我们描述了底栖无脊椎动物(meroplankton)早期远洋生命阶段的极夜多样性和活动水平,这一群体在历史上很大程度上被忽视了。摘要采用浮游生物拖带、实验和DNA条形码等方法,于2023年1月对斯瓦尔巴群岛Kongsfjorden海域浮游生物幼虫的分类丰富度、生殖发育生物学、摄食和定居能力进行了评估。虽然浮游生物的密度低于其他季节,但DNA条形码使我们能够评估丰富度,这比其他研究和季节要高得多,共观察到6门48个独特的分类群。大多数为浮游营养(摄食)幼虫。通过实验室分析和直接观察,我们记录了几种浮游营养性幼虫的摄食情况,包括苔藓虫、双壳虫和类蛇虫。我们发现了许多胚胎,这表明有几个分类群在极夜活跃地繁殖。我们在实验室中观察到两个多毛类分类群的定居,以及我们样本中的变态棘皮动物,显示出跨门定居的能力。总的来说,我们表明,在极夜,各种底栖无脊椎动物的早期生活史阶段都在积极地进食和发育。进一步有针对性的研究应集中在极夜,以更好地了解生殖和发育的季节性模式。
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来源期刊
Biological Bulletin
Biological Bulletin 生物-海洋与淡水生物学
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
6.20%
发文量
47
审稿时长
6-12 weeks
期刊介绍: The Biological Bulletin disseminates novel scientific results in broadly related fields of biology in keeping with more than 100 years of a tradition of excellence. The Bulletin publishes outstanding original research with an overarching goal of explaining how organisms develop, function, and evolve in their natural environments. To that end, the journal publishes papers in the fields of Neurobiology and Behavior, Physiology and Biomechanics, Ecology and Evolution, Development and Reproduction, Cell Biology, Symbiosis and Systematics. The Bulletin emphasizes basic research on marine model systems but includes articles of an interdisciplinary nature when appropriate.
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