Antitumoural activity in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthic organisms

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergi Taboada ◽  
Luis Francisco García-Fernández ◽  
Santiago Bueno ◽  
Jennifer Vázquez ◽  
Carmen Cuevas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pharmacological Study ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Breast Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Antarctic Benthos ◽  
Tumour Cell Lines ◽  
Pharmacological Potential ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Human Tumour Cell Lines

AbstractA prospecting search for antitumoural activity in polar benthic invertebrates was conducted on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthos in three different areas: Bouvet Island (sub-Antarctic), eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica) and the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). A total of 770 benthic invertebrate samples (corresponding to at least 290 different species) from 12 different phyla were assayed to establish their pharmacological potential against three human tumour cell lines (colorectal adenocarcinoma, lung carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma). Bioassays resulted in 15 different species showing anticancer activity corresponding to five different phyla: Tunicata (5), Porifera (4), Cnidaria (3), Echinodermata (2) and Annelida (1). This appears to be the largest pharmacological study ever carried out in Antarctica and it shows very promising antitumoural activities in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthos.

Growth and age of the Antarctic bryozoan Cellaria incula on the Weddell Sea shelf

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Brey ◽  
Dieter Gerdes ◽  
Julian Gutt ◽  
Andreas Mackensen ◽  
Andreas Starmans
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Pioneer Species ◽  
Colony Structure ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Carbon And Oxygen Isotope ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Antarctic

We analysed growth of the arborescent Antarctic cheilostome bryozoan Cellaria incula by stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis. The growth of one complete branch of C. incula takes one year, i.e. owing to the bifurcate colony structure two new branches grow from each branch of the previous generation. The maximum age of a C. incula colony is likely to be more than 14 years. Annual production-to-biomass ratio is 0.67, the highest value hitherto measured for any benthic invertebrate south of 62°S. Comparatively fast growth and high productivity identify C. incula as a pioneer species which is able to quickly occupy spatial niches produced by iceberg scouring on the Antarctic shelf.

scholarly journals Natural iron enrichment around the Antarctic Peninsula in the Southern Ocean

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 7481-7515 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Ardelan ◽  
O. Holm-Hansen ◽  
C. D. Hewes ◽  
C. S. Reiss ◽  
N. S. Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
The South ◽  
Total Acid ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Iron Enrichment ◽  
Bransfield Strait ◽  
Natural Iron ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. As part of the US-AMLR program that occupied 99 hydrographic stations in the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region in January–February of 2006, concentrations of dissolved iron (DFe) and total acid-leachable iron (TaLFe) were measured in the upper 150 m at 16 stations (both coastal and pelagic waters). The concentrations in the upper mixed layer (UML) of DFe and TaLFe were relatively high in Weddell Sea Shelf Waters (~0.6 nM and 15 nM, respectively) and lowest in Drake Passage waters (~0.2 nM and 0.9 nM, respectively). In the Bransfield Strait, representing a mixture of waters from the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), concentrations of DFe were ~0.4 nM and of TaLFe ~1.7 nM. The highest concentrations of DFe and TaLFe in the UML were found at shallow coastal stations close to Livingston Island (~1.6 nM and 100 nM, respectively). The ratio of TaLFe:DFe varied with the distance to land: ~45 at the shallow coastal stations, ~15 in the high-salinity waters of Bransfield Strait, and ~4 in ACC waters. Concentrations of DFe increased slightly with depth in the water column, while that of TaLFe did not show any consistent trend with depth. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that the relatively high rates of primary production known from the central regions of the Scotia Sea are partially sustained by natural iron enrichment resulting from a northeasterly flow of iron-rich coastal waters originating in the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region.

scholarly journals Antarctic Halacaridae (Acari), new records, these species characteristics and an updated list of species

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Bartsch
Keyword(s):  
New Records ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
Species Characteristics ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractFour halacarid species:Agaue agauoides,Agaue parva,Bradyagaue drygalskii, andHalacarus minorhave been extracted from bottom samples taken in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, another four,Colobocerasides auster,Halacarus arnaudi,Lohmannella fukushimai, andL. gaussi, from Kapp Norvegia, Atka and Halley Bay, Weddell Sea. Most of these species are widespread around Antarctica and adjacent islands. Diagnostic characters are outlined. An annotated list presents 66 halacarid species reported from south of the Antarctic Polar Front.

scholarly journals Natural iron enrichment around the Antarctic Peninsula in the Southern Ocean

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Ardelan ◽  
O. Holm-Hansen ◽  
C. D. Hewes ◽  
C. S. Reiss ◽  
N. S. Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Scotia Sea ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Iron Enrichment ◽  
Bransfield Strait ◽  
Natural Iron ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. As part of the US-AMLR program in January-February of 2006, 99 stations in the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region were sampled to understand the variability in hydrographic and biological properties related to the abundance and distribution of krill in this area. Concentrations of dissolved iron (DFe) and total acid-leachable iron (TaLFe) were measured in the upper 150 m at 16 of these stations (both coastal and pelagic waters) to better resolve the factors limiting primary production in this area and in downstream waters of the Scotia Sea. The concentrations of DFe and TaLFe in the upper mixed layer (UML) were relatively high in Weddell Sea Shelf Waters (~0.6 nM and 15 nM, respectively) and low in Drake Passage waters (~0.2 nM and 0.9 nM, respectively). In the Bransfield Strait, representing a mixture of waters from the Weddell Sea and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), concentrations of DFe were ~0.4 nM and of TaLFe ~1.7 nM. The highest concentrations of DFe and TaLFe in the UML were found at shallow coastal stations close to Livingston Island (~1.6 nM and 100 nM, respectively). The ratio of TaLFe:DFe varied with the distance to land: ~45 at the shallow coastal stations, ~15 in the high-salinity waters of Bransfield Strait, and ~4 in ACC waters. Concentrations of DFe increased slightly with depth in the water column, while that of TaLFe did not show any consistent trend with depth. Our Fe data are discussed in regard to the hydrography and water circulation patterns in the study area, and with the hypothesis that the relatively high rates of primary production in the central regions of the Scotia Sea are partially sustained by natural iron enrichment resulting from a northeasterly flow of iron-rich coastal waters originating in the South Shetland Islands-Antarctic Peninsula region.

scholarly journals Do Antarctic benthic invertebrates show an extended level of eurybathy?

1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Brey ◽  
C. Dahm ◽  
M. Gorny ◽  
M. Klages ◽  
M. Stiller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Benthic Invertebrates ◽  
Depth Distribution ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Antarctic Species ◽  
European Species ◽  
Invertebrate Species ◽  
Antarctic Benthos ◽  
Depth Ranges ◽  
The Antarctic

Depth distribution data were compared for 172 European and 157 Antarctic benthic invertebrate species occurring in the respective shelf areas. Antarctic species showed significantly wider depth ranges in selected families of the groups Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Amphipoda and Decapoda. No differences were found in Polychaeta, Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea, where European species also showed comparatively wide bathymetric ranges. These extended levels of eurybathy in the Antarctic benthos may be interpreted either as an evolutionary adaptation or pre-adaptation to the oscillation of shelf ice extension during the Antarctic glacial-interglacial cycle.

scholarly journals Salinity effects on cultured Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) from high latitudes: new paleoenvironmental insights

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Bertlich ◽  
Nikolaus Gussone ◽  
Jasper Berndt ◽  
Heinrich F. Arlinghaus ◽  
Gerhard S. Dieckmann
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Wall Thickening ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Neogloboquadrina Pachyderma ◽  
Antarctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Water Species ◽  
Cold Water Species

AbstractThis study presents culture experiments of the cold water species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) and provides new insights into the incorporation of elements in foraminiferal calcite of common and newly established proxies for paleoenvironmental applications (shell Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Na/Ca). Specimens were collected from sea ice during the austral winter in the Antarctic Weddell Sea and subsequently cultured at different salinities and a constant temperature. Incorporation of the fluorescent dye calcein showed new chamber formation in the culture at salinities of 30, 31, and 69. Cultured foraminifers at salinities of 46 to 83 only revealed chamber wall thickening, indicated by the fluorescence of the whole shell. Signs of reproduction and the associated gametogenic calcite were not observed in any of the culture experiments. Trace element analyses were performed using an electron microprobe, which revealed increased shell Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Na/Ca values at higher salinities, with Mg/Ca showing the lowest sensitivity to salinity changes. This study enhances the knowledge about unusually high element concentrations in foraminifera shells from high latitudes. Neogloboquadrina pachyderma appears to be able to calcify in the Antarctic sea ice within brine channels, which have low temperatures and exceptionally high salinities due to ongoing sea ice formation.

The summer diet of demersal fish at the South Shetland Islands

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Takahashi ◽  
Tetsuo Iwami
Keyword(s):  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Fish Prey ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Gobionotothen Gibberifrons ◽  
The Antarctic

The stomach contents of demersal fish in late January 1982 were analysed. Samples were taken at 100, 300 and 500 m depth south of Elephant Island, Bransfield Strait and north of Livingston Island, and at 800 m to the east of Smith Island. Fifty four taxa of fish belonging to 11 families were collected. The diets of 2101 fish representing 38 taxa were examined. These were classified into three categories, fish feeders, krill feeders and benthos feeders. Fish prey species fed on krill and/or benthos. Krill was a major dietary component for 32 (84.2%) out of 38 taxa. Gobionotothen gibberifrons was distributed at all 10 stations (100–800 m in depth) and its diet comprised krill and benthos. The present findings verify the importance of krill in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and indicate that krill is consumed by benthic fish at greater depths than previously reported.

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