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Show us your beaks and we tell you what you eat: Different ecology in sympatric Antarctic benthic octopods under a climate change context

2019; Frontiers Media; Volume: 6; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.08.00042

2296-7745

Ricardo S. Matias, Susan Gregory, Filipe R. Ceia, Alexandra Baeta, José Seco, Miguel S. Rocha, Emanuel M. Fernandes, Tiago Lapa, Eduarda Pereira, Uwe Piatkowski, Jaime A. Ramos, José C. Xavier,

Marine Biology and Ecology Research

Event Abstract Back to Event Show us your beaks and we tell you what you eat: Different ecology in sympatric Antarctic benthic octopods under a climate change context Ricardo S. Matias1, 2*, Susan Gregory3, 4, Filipe R. Ceia1, 2, Alexandra Baeta1, 2, José Seco5, 6, Miguel Rocha7, Emanuel M. Fernandes7, Tiago H. Silva7, Eduarda Pereira5, Uwe Piatkowski8, Jaime A. Ramos1, 2 and José C. Xavier1, 2, 4 1 Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE), Portugal 2 University of Coimbra, Portugal 3 Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, Falkland Islands 4 British Antarctic Survey (BAS), United Kingdom 5 Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Portugal 6 University of St Andrews, United Kingdom 7 3B's Research Group in Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Portugal 8 GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany Sympatry can lead to higher interspecific competition under climate change and other environmental pressures, and this may be particularly relevant in polar regions. This study focused in the ecology of two sympatric benthic Antarctic octopod species, Adelieledone polymorpha and Pareledone turqueti, highly abundant around South Georgia region located on the northern limit of the Southern Ocean. With a novel approach combining carbon (13C) and nitrogen (15N) isotope signatures, total mercury (T-Hg) analysis and biomaterials engineering techniques (Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, Micro Computerized Tomography and Nanoindentation Test) applied to their beaks, we aimed to assess interspecific competition by evidencing the different beak adaptations that both species possess and estimate their niche overlap. An isotopic niche overlap of 95.6% was recorded during the juvenile stage (represented by upper beak’s rostrum) of both octopod species, dropping to 19.2% during the adult stages (represented by the upper beak’s crest). Our results also show that both species inhabit benthic ecosystems around South Georgia throughout their lifecycle (13C: -18.5 ± 0.50‰), whilst A. polymorpha and P. turqueti explore trophic niches partially different during adult life stages (15N: 7.01 ± 0.40‰ and 7.84 ± 0.65‰, respectively). Besides differing greatly in morphology, A. polymorpha beaks’ microstructure is less dense and significantly less stiff than P. turqueti, confirming our expectations of an adaptation to a more specific trophic niche. The T-Hg concentrations in flesh were lower in A. polymorpha (0.322 ± 0.088µg g-1) than P. turqueti (0.434 ± 0.128µg g-1). Beaks showed lower mercury uptake rates relative to flesh (A. polymorpha: 0.052 ± 0.009µg g-1; P. turqueti: 0.038 ± 0.009µg g-1). Overall, both species, although exhibiting similar habitats, have different trophic niches related to differences in morphology and function of beaks, and their digestive apparatus. In addition, due to mercury bioaccumulation throughout trophic levels, the high T-Hg concentrations in both octopod species might have negative consequences on Antarctic top predators that feed considerably on these organisms, an effect which will likely increase under the present climate change context. Keywords: Sympatry, cephalopods, South Georgia, Stable isotopes, Mercury, Biomaterials Conference: XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) , Braga, Portugal, 9 Sep - 12 Sep, 2019. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Ecology, Biodiversity and Vulnerable Ecosystems Citation: Matias RS, Gregory S, Ceia FR, Baeta A, Seco J, Rocha M, Fernandes EM, Silva TH, Pereira E, Piatkowski U, Ramos JA and Xavier JC (2019). Show us your beaks and we tell you what you eat: Different ecology in sympatric Antarctic benthic octopods under a climate change context. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: XX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies (SIEBM XX) . doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.08.00042 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 12 Apr 2019; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Dr. Ricardo S Matias, Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences (MARE), Lisbon, Portugal, ricardomatias.bio@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Ricardo S Matias Susan Gregory Filipe R Ceia Alexandra Baeta José Seco Miguel Rocha Emanuel M Fernandes Tiago H Silva Eduarda Pereira Uwe Piatkowski Jaime A Ramos José C Xavier Google Ricardo S Matias Susan Gregory Filipe R Ceia Alexandra Baeta José Seco Miguel Rocha Emanuel M Fernandes Tiago H Silva Eduarda Pereira Uwe Piatkowski Jaime A Ramos José C Xavier Google Scholar Ricardo S Matias Susan Gregory Filipe R Ceia Alexandra Baeta José Seco Miguel Rocha Emanuel M Fernandes Tiago H Silva Eduarda Pereira Uwe Piatkowski Jaime A Ramos José C Xavier PubMed Ricardo S Matias Susan Gregory Filipe R Ceia Alexandra Baeta José Seco Miguel Rocha Emanuel M Fernandes Tiago H Silva Eduarda Pereira Uwe Piatkowski Jaime A Ramos José C Xavier Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.