• myGriffith
    • Staff portal
    • Contact Us⌄
      • Future student enquiries 1800 677 728
      • Current student enquiries 1800 154 055
      • International enquiries +61 7 3735 6425
      • General enquiries 07 3735 7111
      • Online enquiries
      • Staff phonebook
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Griffith Research Online
    • Journal articles
    • View Item
    • Home
    • Griffith Research Online
    • Journal articles
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

  • All of Griffith Research Online
    • Communities & Collections
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • This Collection
    • Authors
    • By Issue Date
    • Titles
  • Statistics

  • Most Popular Items
  • Statistics by Country
  • Most Popular Authors
  • Support

  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Admin login

  • Login
  • Oxygen hypothesis of polar gigantism not supported by performance of Antarctic pycnogonids in hypoxia

    Author(s)
    Woods, H Arthur
    Moran, Amy L
    Arango, Claudia P
    Mullen, Lindy
    Shields, Chris
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Arango, Claudia P.
    Year published
    2009
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Compared to temperate and tropical relatives, some high-latitude marine species are large-bodied, a phenomenon known as polar gigantism. A leading hypothesis on the physiological basis of gigantism posits that, in polar water, high oxygen availability coupled to low metabolic rates relieves constraints on oxygen transport and allows the evolution of large body size. Here, we test the oxygen hypothesis using Antarctic pycnogonids, which have been evolving in very cold conditions (-1.8-0é for several million years and contain spectacular examples of gigantism. Pycnogonids from 12 species, spanning three orders of magnitude in ...
    View more >
    Compared to temperate and tropical relatives, some high-latitude marine species are large-bodied, a phenomenon known as polar gigantism. A leading hypothesis on the physiological basis of gigantism posits that, in polar water, high oxygen availability coupled to low metabolic rates relieves constraints on oxygen transport and allows the evolution of large body size. Here, we test the oxygen hypothesis using Antarctic pycnogonids, which have been evolving in very cold conditions (-1.8-0é for several million years and contain spectacular examples of gigantism. Pycnogonids from 12 species, spanning three orders of magnitude in body mass, were collected from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Individual sea spiders were forced into activity and their performance was measured at different experimental levels of dissolved oxygen (DO). The oxygen hypothesis predicts that, all else being equal, large pycnogonids should perform disproportionately poorly in hypoxia, an outcome that would appear as a statistically significant interaction between body size and oxygen level. In fact, although we found large effects of DO on performance, and substantial interspecific variability in oxygen sensitivity, there was no evidence for sizeׄO interactions. These data do not support the oxygen hypothesis of Antarctic pycnogonid gigantism and suggest that explanations must be sought in other ecological or evolutionary processes.
    View less >
    Journal Title
    Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
    Volume
    276
    Issue
    1659
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1489
    Subject
    Biological sciences
    Invertebrate biology
    Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
    Biomedical and clinical sciences
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/55897
    Collection
    • Journal articles

    Footer

    Disclaimer

    • Privacy policy
    • Copyright matters
    • CRICOS Provider - 00233E
    • TEQSA: PRV12076

    Tagline

    • Gold Coast
    • Logan
    • Brisbane - Queensland, Australia
    First Peoples of Australia
    • Aboriginal
    • Torres Strait Islander