Applying dendrochronology visual crossdating techniques to the marine bivalve Arctica islandica and assessing the utility of master growth chronologies as proxies for temperature and secondary productivity in the Gulf of Maine

ABSTRACT Sperm ultrastructure is described for the ocean quahog Arctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1767) (Arcticidae), a long-lived, and commercially and phylogenetically important marine bivalve from the North Atlantic, and for Neotrapezium sublaevigatum (Lamarck, 1819), an Indo-Pacific member of the only other family of Arcticoidea (Trapezidae). Spermatozoa of A. islandica consist of (in anterior to posterior sequence): an elongate-conical, deeply invaginated, acrosomal vesicle (length 2.0 ± 0.2 μm; invagination occupied by a granular subacrosomal material); a straight, anteriorly-tapered, rod-shaped nucleus (length 6.6 ± 0.4 μm); a short (approximately 0.8 μm) midpiece consisting of two orthogonally arranged centrioles, surrounded by four (approximately 75% of spermatozoa observed) or, less commonly, five (approximately 25% of spermatozoa observed) spherical mitochondria; nine satellite fibres connecting the distal centriole to mitochondria and the plasma membrane; and a flagellum (length 60 ± 5.0 μm, with 9+2 axoneme), originating from the distal centriole. Contents of the acrosomal vesicle of A. islandica are differentiated into a very electron-dense basal ring (with reticulate structure) and two less electron-dense zones. Spermatozoa of N. laevigatum (Lamarck, 1819) differ substantially from those of A. islandica and are characterized by: a rounded-conical, deeply invaginated, acrosomal vesicle (length 0.43 ± 0.2 μm), with a curved basal ring and two less conspicuous components; a barrel-shaped nucleus (length 1.6 ± 0.5 μm) with a broad apical depression accommodating the base of the acrosomal vesicle; a midpiece composed of five (approximately 80% of spermatozoa observed) or four (approximately 20% of spermatozoa observed) mitochondria. Centriolar and flagellar details are essentially as for A. islandica, and putative glycogen deposits are associated with the distal centriole and mitochondria in both species. Sperm data corroborate recent transcriptomic analyses separating Arcticidae and Trapezidae in different imparidentian clades. Based on sperm morphology, A. islandica would appear more closely related to the Glauconomidae of the Cyrenoidea than to the Trapezidae, Veneroidea or any other previously examined group of euheterodonts, suggesting that it could be the only living member of the Arcticoidea. The relationships of the Trapezidae remain uncertain, with apparent sperm similarities to members of several groups of euheterodonts (e.g. Tellinoidea, Pholadoidea, Galeommatoidea), while several potentially closely related key taxa (e.g. Glossidae) remain unstudied for sperm characters.

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Presence of male mitochondria in somatic tissues and their functional importance at the whole animal level in the marine bivalve Arctica islandica

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-02593-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cyril Dégletagne ◽

Doris Abele ◽

Gernot Glöckner ◽

Benjamin Alric ◽

Heike Gruber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mitochondrial Genes ◽

Marine Bivalve ◽

Uniparental Inheritance ◽

Natural Occurrence ◽

Doubly Uniparental Inheritance ◽

Arctica Islandica ◽

Sharp Drop ◽

Respiratory Capacity ◽

Icelandic Population ◽

Somatic Tissues

AbstractMetazoans normally possess a single lineage of mitochondria inherited from the mother (♀-type mitochondria) while paternal mitochondria are absent or eliminated in fertilized eggs. In doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI), which is specific to the bivalve clade including the ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, ♂-type mitochondria are retained in male gonads and, in a few species, small proportions of ♂-type mitochondria co-exist with ♀-type in somatic tissues. To the best of our knowledge, we report, for the first time in metazoan, the natural occurrence of male and female individuals with exclusively ♂-type mitochondria in somatic tissues of the bivalve A. islandica. Mitochondrial genomes differ by ~5.5% at DNA sequence level. Exclusive presence of ♂-type mitochondria affects mitochondrial complexes partially encoded by mitochondrial genes and leads to a sharp drop in respiratory capacity. Through a combination of whole mitochondrial genome sequencing and molecular assays (gene presence and expression), we demonstrate that 1) 11% of individuals of an Icelandic population appear homoplasmic for ♂-type mitochondria in somatic tissues, 2) ♂-type mitochondrial genes are transcribed and 3) individuals with ♂-type mitochondria in somatic cells lose 30% of their wild-type respiratory capacity. This mitochondrial pattern in A. islandica is a special case of DUI, highlighted in individuals from both sexes with functional consequences at cellular and conceivably whole animal level.

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A high-resolution geochemical proxy record of ∆14C and d18O in the Gulf of Maine using Arctica islandica shell carbonate

10.31274/etd-180810-1287 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Erin Elizabeth Lower

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Arctica Islandica ◽

Proxy Record ◽

Shell Carbonate ◽

Geochemical Proxy

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The effects of environment on <i>Arctica islandica</i> shell formation and architecture

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-14-1577-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 1577-1591 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Stefania Milano ◽

Gernot Nehrke ◽

Alan D. Wanamaker Jr. ◽

Irene Ballesta-Artero ◽

Thomas Brey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Conditions ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Seawater Temperature ◽

Marine Bivalve ◽

Arctica Islandica ◽

Environmental Signals ◽

Multiple Parameters ◽

Physiological Variables ◽

Animal Physiology ◽

Food Conditions

Abstract. Mollusks record valuable information in their hard parts that reflect ambient environmental conditions. For this reason, shells can serve as excellent archives to reconstruct past climate and environmental variability. However, animal physiology and biomineralization, which are often poorly understood, can make the decoding of environmental signals a challenging task. Many of the routinely used shell-based proxies are sensitive to multiple different environmental and physiological variables. Therefore, the identification and interpretation of individual environmental signals (e.g., water temperature) often is particularly difficult. Additional proxies not influenced by multiple environmental variables or animal physiology would be a great asset in the field of paleoclimatology. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential use of structural properties of Arctica islandica shells as an environmental proxy. A total of 11 specimens were analyzed to study if changes of the microstructural organization of this marine bivalve are related to environmental conditions. In order to limit the interference of multiple parameters, the samples were cultured under controlled conditions. Three specimens presented here were grown at two different water temperatures (10 and 15 °C) for multiple weeks and exposed only to ambient food conditions. An additional eight specimens were reared under three different dietary regimes. Shell material was analyzed with two techniques; (1) confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) was used to quantify changes of the orientation of microstructural units and pigment distribution, and (2) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to detect changes in microstructural organization. Our results indicate that A. islandica microstructure is not sensitive to changes in the food source and, likely, shell pigment are not altered by diet. However, seawater temperature had a statistically significant effect on the orientation of the biomineral. Although additional work is required, the results presented here suggest that the crystallographic orientation of biomineral units of A. islandica may serve as an alternative and independent proxy for seawater temperature.

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The effects of environment on <i>Arctica islandica</i> shell formation and architecture

10.5194/bg-2016-462 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Stefania Milano ◽

Gernot Nehrke ◽

Alan D. Wanamaker Jr. ◽

Irene Ballesta-Artero ◽

Thomas Brey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Conditions ◽

Environmental Variability ◽

Seawater Temperature ◽

Marine Bivalve ◽

Arctica Islandica ◽

Environmental Signals ◽

Multiple Parameters ◽

Physiological Variables ◽

Animal Physiology ◽

Food Conditions

Abstract. Mollusks record valuable information in their hard parts that reflect ambient environmental conditions. For this reason, shells can serve as excellent archives to reconstruct past climate and environmental variability. However, animal physiology and biomineralization, which are often poorly understood, can make the decoding of environmental signals a challenging task. Many of the routinely used shell-based proxies are sensitive to multiple different environmental and physiological variables. Therefore, the identification and interpretation of individual environmental signals (e.g. water temperature) often is particularly difficult. Additional proxies not influenced by multiple environmental variables or animal physiology would be a great asset in the field of paleoclimatology. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential use of structural properties of Arctica islandica shells as an environmental proxy. A total of eleven specimens were analyzed to study if changes of the microstructural organization of this marine bivalve are related to environmental conditions. In order to limit the interference of multiple parameters, the samples were cultured under controlled conditions. Three shells presented here were grown at two different water temperatures (10 °C and 15 °C) for multiple weeks and exposed only to ambient food conditions. An additional eight specimens were reared under three different dietary regimes. Shell material was analyzed with two techniques: (1) Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) was used to quantify changes of the orientation of microstructural units and pigment distribution and (2) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to detect changes in microstructural organization. Our results indicate that A. islandica microstructure is not sensitive to changes in the food source, and likely, shell pigment are not altered by diet. However, seawater temperature had a statistically significant effect on the orientation of the biomineral. Although additional work is required, the results presented here suggest that the crystallographic orientation of biomineral units of A. islandica may serve as an alternative and independent proxy for seawater temperature.

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A late Holocene paleo-productivity record in the western Gulf of Maine, USA, inferred from growth histories of the long-lived ocean quahog (Arctica islandica)

International Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s00531-008-0318-z ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 98 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Alan D. Wanamaker ◽

Karl J. Kreutz ◽

Bernd R. Schöne ◽

Kirk A. Maasch ◽

Andrew J. Pershing ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Holocene ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Arctica Islandica

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Predicting bycatch hotspots based on suitable habitat derived from fishery-independent data

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13302 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 641 ◽

pp. 159-175

Author(s):

J Runnebaum ◽

KR Tanaka ◽

L Guan ◽

J Cao ◽

L O’Brien ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Suitability ◽

Mixed Model ◽

Linear Mixed Model ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Homarus Americanus ◽

Management Tool ◽

American Lobster ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Suitability Index

Bycatch remains a global problem in managing sustainable fisheries. A critical aspect of management is understanding the timing and spatial extent of bycatch. Fisheries management often relies on observed bycatch data, which are not always available due to a lack of reporting or observer coverage. Alternatively, analyzing the overlap in suitable habitat for the target and non-target species can provide a spatial management tool to understand where bycatch interactions are likely to occur. Potential bycatch hotspots based on suitable habitat were predicted for cusk Brosme brosme incidentally caught in the Gulf of Maine American lobster Homarus americanus fishery. Data from multiple fisheries-independent surveys were combined in a delta-generalized linear mixed model to generate spatially explicit density estimates for use in an independent habitat suitability index. The habitat suitability indices for American lobster and cusk were then compared to predict potential bycatch hotspot locations. Suitable habitat for American lobster has increased between 1980 and 2013 while suitable habitat for cusk decreased throughout most of the Gulf of Maine, except for Georges Basin and the Great South Channel. The proportion of overlap in suitable habitat varied interannually but decreased slightly in the spring and remained relatively stable in the fall over the time series. As Gulf of Maine temperatures continue to increase, the interactions between American lobster and cusk are predicted to decline as cusk habitat continues to constrict. This framework can contribute to fisheries managers’ understanding of changes in habitat overlap as climate conditions continue to change and alter where bycatch interactions could occur.

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