Abstract
Annual shell growth was determined by mark and recapture in the limpet Nacella concinna (Strebel 1908) at two contrasting sites in Antarctica. At Signy Island, 60°S, growth was moderately fast, comparable with some limpets in more temperate areas. The fluorescent calcium marker calcein was used to validate the results from the mark/recapture study, and fine-scale growth increments showed that shell growth was seasonal. Further south at Rothera Point, 67°S, mean annual growth over a 3-year period was significantly slower than at Signy, and in 1 year was the slowest yet reported for a limpet. Comparison with an earlier mark/recapture study at Arthur Harbour, Palmer Station (64°S) revealed a cline of decreasing growth performance with increasing latitude along the Antarctic Peninsula. It is not clear whether the slower annual growth rate at higher latitude was caused by physiological constraints, a reduced length of growing season, or a combination of both. Limpets show a global cline in growth performance, which decreases towards higher latitudes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ament AS (1979) Geographical variation in relation to life history in three species of the marine gastropod genus Crepidula: growth rates of newly hatched larvae and juveniles. In: Stancyk SC (ed) Reproductive ecology of marine invertebrates. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, pp 61–76
Barnes DKA (1995) Seasonal and annual growth in erect species of Antarctic bryozoans. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 188:181–198
Barnes DKA, Arnold RJ (1999) Possible latitudinal clines in Antarctic intertidal and subtidal zone communities encrusting ephemeral hard substrata. J Biogeogr 26:207–213
Barnes DKA, Arnold R (2001) Competition, sub-lethal mortality and diversity on Southern Ocean coastal rock communities. Polar Biol 24:447–454
Beaumont AR, Wei JHC (1991) Morphological and genetic variation in the Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna (Strebel, 1908). J Mollusc Stud 57:443–450
Blankley WO, Branch GM (1985) Ecology of the limpet N. delesserti (Philippi) at Marion Island in the Sub-antarctic Southern Ocean. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 92:259–281
Brêthes J-C, Ferreyra G, de la Vega S (1994) Distribution, growth and reproduction of the limpet Nacella (Patinigera) concinna (Strebel 1908) in relation to potential food availability in Esperanza Bay (Antarctic Peninsula). Polar Biol 14:161–170
Branch GM (1974) The ecology of Patella Linnaeus from the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. 3. Growth rates. Trans R Soc S Afr 41:161–193
Branch GM (1981) The biology of limpets: physical factors, energy flow and ecological interactions. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 19:235–380
Branch GM, Odendaal F (2003) Marine protected areas and wave action: impacts on a South African limpet, Cymbula oculus. Biol Conserv 114:255–269
Bretos M (1980) Age determination in the keyhole limpet Fissurella crassa Lamarck (Archaeogastropoda, Fissurellidae), based on shell growth rings. Biol Bull 159:606–612
Brey T, Clarke A (1993) Population dynamics of benthic marine invertebrates in Antarctic and Subantarctic environments: are there unique adaptations? Antarct Sci 5:253–266
Chapman DG (1961) Statistical problems in dynamics of exploited fisheries populations. Proceedings of the 4th Berkeley symposium on mathematical statistics and probability. Univ Calif Publ Statist 4:153–168
Choat JH, Black R (1979) Life histories of limpets and the limpet-laminarian relationship. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 41:25–50
Clarke A (1983) Life in cold water: the physiological ecology of polar marine ectotherms. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 21:341–453
Clarke A (1991) What is cold adaptation and how should we measure it? Am Zool 31:81–92
Clarke A (2003) Costs and consequences of evolutionary temperature adaptation. Trends Ecol Evol 18:573–581
Conover DO, Present TMC (1990) Countergradient variation in growth rate: compensation of length of the growing season among Atlantic silversides from different latitudes. Oecologia 83:316–324
Creese RG (1981) Patterns of growth, longevity and recruitment of intertidal limpets in New South Wales. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 51:145–171
Dehnel PA (1955) Rates of growth of gastropods as a function of latitude. Physiol Zool 28:115–144
Diehl H, Ellingboe JL (1956) Indicator for titration of calcium in the presence of magnesium using disodium dihydrogen ethylenediamine tetracetate. Anal Chem 28:882–884
Dunmore RA, Schiel DR (2003) Demography, competitive interactions and grazing effects of intertidal limpets in southern New Zealand. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 288:17–38
Eekhout S, Raubenheimer CM, Branch GM, Bosman AL, Bergh MO (1992) A holistic approach to the exploitation of intertidal stocks: limpets as a case history. S Afr J Mar Sci 12:1017–1029
Fletcher WJ (1984) Intraspecific variation in the population dynamics and growth of the limpet, Cellana tramoserica. Oecologia 63:110–121
Frank PW (1965) Growth of three species of Acmaea. Veliger 7:201–202
Gulland JA (1969) Manual of methods for fish stock assessment. Part 1. Fish population analysis. FAO Man Fish Sci 4:1–154
Guzman LF, Rios CF (1987) Age and growth of the Subantarctic limpet Nacella (Patinigera) magellanica magellanica (Gmelin, 1791) from the Strait of Magellan, Chile. Veliger 30:159–166
Kenny R (1968) Growth characteristics of Acmaea persona Eschscholtz. Veliger 11:336–339
Kock K-H, Everson I (1998) Age, growth and maximum size of Antarctic notothenioid fish—revisited. In: di Prisco G, Pisano E, Clarke A (eds) Fishes of Antarctica: a biological overview. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 29–40
Lamare MD, Mladenov PV (2000) Modelling somatic growth in the sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus (Echinoidea: Echinometridae). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 243:17–43
Liu JH (1994) The ecology of the Hong Kong limpets Cellana grata (Gould, 1859) and Patelloida pygmaea (Dunker, 1860): distribution and population dynamics. J Mollusc Stud 60:55–67
Medeirosbergen DE, Ebert TA (1995) Growth, fecundity and mortality rates of two intertidal brittlestars (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) with contrasting modes of development. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 189:47–64
Moran AL (2000) Calcein as a marker in experimental studies newly-hatched gastropods. Mar Biol 137:893–898
Munro JL, Pauly D (1983) A simple method for comparing the growth of fishes and invertebrates. Fishbyte 1:5–6
Nolan CP (1991a) Size, shape and shell morphology in the Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. J Mollusc Stud 57:225–238
Nolan CP (1991b) Environmental aspects of growth in the Antarctic molluscs Nacella concinna (Patellidae) and Yoldia eightsi (Nuculanidae) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. PhD Thesis, University of Hull
Peck LS, Brey T (1996) Bomb signals in old Antarctic brachiopods. Nature 380:207–208
Peck LS, Brockington S, Brey T (1997) Growth and metabolism in the Antarctic brachiopod Liothyrella uva. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B 352:851–858
Picken GB (1980) The distribution, growth and reproduction of the Antarctic limpet Nacella (Patinigera) concinna (Strebel 1908). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 42:71–85
Powell AWB (1973) The patellid limpets of the world. Indo-Pac Mollusca 3:75–206
Present TMC, Conover DO (1992) Physiological basis of latitudinal growth differences in Menidia menidia: variation in consumption or efficiency? Funct Ecol 6:23–31
Richardson CA (2001) Molluscs as archives of environmental change. Oceanogr Mar Biol Annu Rev 39:103–164
Saad A (1997) Age, growth and morphometry of the limpet Cellana eucosmia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the Gulf of Suez. Indian J Mar Sci 26:169–172
Shabica SV (1976) The natural history of the Antarctic limpet Patinigera polaris (Hombron and Jacquinot). PhD Thesis, Oregon State University
Stewart B (1996) Growth dynamics of the radial shields of the euryalid snake star Astrobrachion constrictum (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea). Invertebr Biol 115:321–330
Thompson RC, Roberts MF, Norton TA, Hawkins SJ (2000) Feast or famine for intertidal grazing molluscs: a mis-match between seasonal variations in grazing intensity and the abundance of microbial resources. Hydrobiologia 440:357–367
Walker AJM (1972) Introduction to the ecology of the Antarctic limpet Patinigera polaris (Omron and Jacquinot) at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. Br Antarct Surv Bull 28:49–71
Wei JHC (1988) Morphological and genetic variation in natural populations of Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna. MSc Thesis, University of Wales
Acknowledgements
Mark/recapture work on free-living marine animals is very labour intensive. We thank all those base members at Signy (1994–1995) and Rothera (1997–2000) for help with diving, but especially Simon Brockington, Keiron Fraser, Rob Wood, Hugh Brown, Lesley Thomson and Craig Barnes. We also thank Ken Robinson for the electron microscopy, Inigo Everson for helpful advice on the estimation of growth rates from field data and George Branch for provision of limpet growth data.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Growth performance data for patellacean limpets. Data arranged by latitude to ease comparison with Fig. 7 (negative latitudes are southern hemisphere). In some cases values of K and L ∞ are provided in the original literature cited; in others (*) these have been derived from data or plots in the paper. These studies involve a wide range of techniques and sample numbers, and not all studies were concerned primarily with the determination of growth rate; the data must therefore be regarded as indicative rather than definitive in many cases
Species | Latitude | K | L ∞ | Ø | Location | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nacella concinna | −67.0 | 0.059 | 38.5 | 4.47 | Rothera Point (1997/8) | This paper |
N. concinna | −67.0 | 0.129 | 57.6 | 6.06 | Rothera Point (1998/9) | This paper |
N. concinna | −67.0 | 0.068 | 50.2 | 5.14 | Rothera Point (1999/2000) | This paper |
N. concinna | −64.0 | 0.109 | 40.6 | 5.19 | Palmer Station | Shabica (1976) |
N. concinna | −63.0 | 0.080 | 46.0 | 5.13 | Hope Bay | Brêthes et al. (1994) |
N. concinna | −61.0 | 0.323 | 34.5 | 5.95 | Signy Island | This paper |
N. concinna | −61.0 | 0.062 | 41.0 | 4.65 | Signy Island | Picken 1980 |
Nacella magellanica | −52.5 | 0.191* | 54.0* | 6.32 | Straits of Magellan | Gunzman and Rios (1987) |
N. magellanica | −52.5 | 0.147* | 55.0* | 6.10 | Straits of Magellan | Gunzman and Rios (1987) |
N. magellanica | −52.5 | 0.127* | 67.0* | 6.35 | Straits of Magellan | Gunzman and Rios (1987) |
N. magellanica | −52.5 | 0.110* | 61.0* | 6.01 | Straits of Magellan | Gunzman and Rios (1987) |
N. magellanica | −52.5 | 0.079* | 61.0* | 5.69 | Straits of Magellan | Gunzman and Rios (1987) |
N. magellanica | −52.5 | 0.026* | 120.0* | 5.94 | Straits of Magellan | Gunzman and Rios (1987) |
N. delesserti | −47.0 | 0.971 | 61.8 | 8.22 | Marion Island | Blankley and Branch (1985) |
Cellana ornata | −42.5 | 0.536 | 39.7 | 6.74 | First Bay; Kaikura, NZ | Dunmore and Schiel (2003) |
C. ornata | −42.5 | 0.400 | 26.3 | 5.62 | Blue Duck; Kaikura, NZ | Dunmore and Schiel (2003) |
Scutellastra cochlear | −34.3 | 0.334 | 49.0 | 6.69 | Kommetjie, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
S. cochlear | −34.3 | 0.117 | 47.0 | 5.56 | Kommetjie, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
Cymbula granatina | −34.3 | 0.509 | 94.0 | 8.41 | Kommetjie, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
Scutellastra granularis | −34.3 | 0.556 | 40.0 | 6.79 | Kommetjie, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
S. granularis | −34.3 | 0.754 | 53.0 | 7.66 | Elands Bay, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
Cymbula oculus | −34.3 | 1.020 | 65.5 | 8.38 | Dwesa, South Africa | Branch and Odendaal (2003) |
S. cochlear | −34.2 | 0.209 | 60.0 | 6.62 | Kalk Bay, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
S. cochlear | −34.2 | 0.137 | 50.0 | 5.84 | Kalk Bay, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
S. granularis | −34.2 | 0.671 | 38.0 | 6.88 | Kalk Bay, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
Scutellastra longicosta | −34.2 | 0.300 | 68.0 | 7.23 | Kalk Bay, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
C. oculus | −34.2 | 0.582 | 79.0 | 8.20 | Kalk Bay, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
Cellana tramoserica | −34.0 | 0.832* | 39.7* | 7.18 | Cape Banks, Botany Bay, NSW | Fletcher (1984) |
C. tramoserica | −34.0 | 1.661* | 47.8* | 8.24 | Cape Banks, Botany Bay, NSW | Fletcher (1984) |
Patelloida latistrigata | −34.0 | 1.232* | 13.0* | 5.34 | Botany Bay, NSW | Creese (1981) |
Patelloida alticostata | −34.0 | 0.226* | 30.5* | 5.35 | Botany Bay, NSW | Creese (1981) |
Notacmaea petterdi | −34.0 | 0.255* | 23.7* | 4.96 | Botany Bay, NSW | Creese 1981 |
Cymbola granatina | −30.8 | 0.270 | 67.9 | 7.13 | Groenrivier, South Africa | Branch (1974) |
Scutellastra argenvillei | −30.8 | 0.210 | 82.0 | 7.25 | Groenrivier, South Africa | Eekhout et al. (1992) |
Fissurella crassa | −20.0 | 0.159* | 94.5* | 7.26 | Huayquique, Chile | Bretos (1980) |
Cellana grata | 22.2 | 1.014* | 36.2* | 7.19 | Cape d’Aguilar, Hong Kong | Liu (1994) |
Cellana eucosmia | 29.5 | 0.689* | 44.1* | 7.20 | Gulf of Suez | Saad (1997) |
Acmaea digitalis | 43.5 | 0.530* | 24.0* | 5.72 | Coos Bay, Oregon | Frank (1965) |
Acmaea paradigitalis | 43.5 | 0.791 | 13.2 | 4.92 | Coos Bay, Oregon | Frank (1965) |
Acmaea persona | 44.0 | 0.256* | 41.6* | 6.09 | Newport, Oregon | Kenny (1968) |
A. digitalis | ND | 0.583 | 25.8 | 5.96 | California | Choat and Black (1979) |
A. digitalis | ND | 0.624 | 20.4 | 5.56 | California | Choat and Black (1979) |
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clarke, A., Prothero-Thomas, E., Beaumont, J.C. et al. Growth in the limpet Nacella concinna from contrasting sites in Antarctica. Polar Biol 28, 62–71 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0647-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-004-0647-8