Trophic biology of antarctic shallow-water echinoderms

Abstract

Antarctic echinoderms appear to be adapted to a benthic environment characterized by long-term low availability of food resources. As predicted for a low-energy system, most echinoderms appear to expend little energy on feeding. Moreover, they are primarily generalists which opportunistically &splay scavenging or necrophagous feeding habits. Others exploit detrital material, or ingest microorganisms from the benthos and plankton. Those echinoderms which are feeding specialists exploit prey which are low in energy content yet extremely abundant, such as sponges. Even though in&viduals may have a low energy intake, it is likely that echinoderms play a significant role in energy transfer in antarctic benthos, as they are among the most abundant of epibenthic macroinvertebrate groups in shallow antarctic seas.

Palatability and chemical anti-predatory defenses in common ascidians from the Antarctic Peninsula

“…Sea star feeding bioassays were performed using protocols developed by McClintock & Baker (1997a). The sea star Odontaster validus was selected because it is an abundant, omnivorous predator (Dayton et al 1974, McClintock et al 1988, McClintock 1994. Moreover, it is frequently seen preying on sessile benthic macroinvertebrates in the vicinity of Palmer Station (authors' pers.…”

The megazoobenthos of the Scotia Arc islands

“…Indeed, many of these taxa are active predators, scavengers or with marked necrophagous tendencies (Arnaud, 1970(Arnaud, , 1977Presler, 1986), or have generalist feeding patterns (McClintock, 1994). The importance of the echinoderms as the subdominant group -particularly asteroids, ophiuroids and holothurians-from Elephant Island, the South Orkneys and the South Shetlands has also been noted by Mühlenhardt-Siegel (1988, Ramos and Sobrino (1991), Sáiz-Salinas et al (1997), and Arnaud et al (1998).…”

Growth and production of Sterechinus neumayeri (Echinoidea: Echinodermata) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

“…In deeper waters below the euphotic zone organic surface deposits are the primary food (observations [rom the Weddell Sea shelf, Brey unpublished). Predators of S. neumayeri include the starfish Odontaster validus, Macroptychaster accrescens and Porania antarctica 91abra (McClintock 1994), and the sea anemone Urticinopsis antarcticus (Dayton et al 1970). It is likely that S. neumayeri is also preyed upon by other invertebrate as well as vertebrate predators.…”