Summary
Gill dimensions of 27 juvenile and adult Pleuragramma antarcticum from the southern Weddell Sea and of 28 juvenile and adult Notothenia gibberifrons from the South Orkney and South Shetland Islands were estimated. The unit gill area (UGA) of P. antarcticum ranged from 75 to 167 mm2/g (mean=105); gill area index (GAI) and water-blood distance (WBD) were found to be 1.38 cm2 and 3.3 μm, respectively. The exponent dg in the relationship total gill area to weight was found to be 0.90. It is concluded that P. antarcticum belongs to sluggish species and, although pelagic, its routine energy costs tend to be low. However, the closely packed lamellae (NL/mm=21) indicate more active behaviour in comparison with N. gibberifrons. A preliminary estimation of growth parameters (P, k) is presented. The sluggish behaviour of N. gibberifrons, as expected from its benthic mode of life, is reflected by the gill parameters: the very low UGA ranged from 39 to 118 mm2/g; GAI and dg were found to be 0.73 cm2 and 0.98, respectively. Comparing gill dimensions and general respiration characteristics of fish from antarctic, temperate and tropical waters it is concluded that antarctic fish have increased their scope for activity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anonymous (1983) Post-FIBEX hydrographic data interpretation workshop. Pol Polar Res 4:155–162
Carmack EC, Foster TD (1975) Circulation and distribution of oceanographic properties near the Filchner ice shelf. Deep-Sea Res 22:77–90
Chekunova VI (1983) Ecological groups of cold water fishes and their energy metabolism. J Ichthyol 23:111–121
Chen CH (1987) Summer-winter comparisons of oxygen content in the polar seas. Antarct J US 22:115–117
De Jager S, Dekkers WJ (1975) Relations between gill structure and activity in fish. Neth J Zool 25:276–308
De Jager S, Smit-Onel ME, Videler JJ, Van Gils BJM, Uffink EM (1977) The respiratory area of the gills of some teleost fishes in relation to their mode of life. Bijdr Dierkd 46:199–205
Eastman JT (1985) The evaluation of neutrally buoyant Notothenioid fishes: their specialisations and potential interactions in the Antarctic marine food web. In: Siegfried RW, Condy RP, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer, Berlin, pp 430–436
Gray IE (1954) Comparative study of the gill area of marine fishes. Biol Bull 107:219–225
Hellmer HH, Bersch M (eds) (1985) The Southern Ocean. Rep Polar Res 26:1–115
Hemmingsen EA, Douglas EL (1977) Respiratory and circulatory adaptations to the absence of hemoglobin in Chaenichthyid fishes. In: Llano GA (ed) Adaptations within Antarctic ecosystems. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, pp 479–487
Holeton GF (1976) Respiratory morphometrics of white and red blooded Antarctic fish. Comp Biochem Physiol 54A:215–220
Hubold G (1984a) Spatial distribution of Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces: Nototheniidae) near the Filchner and Larsen-Ice-Shelves. Polar Biol 3:231–236
Hubold G (1984b) Stomach contents of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum from the Southern and Eastern Weddell Sea. Int Counc Explor Sea, CMH 40, 19 pp
Hubold G (1985) Stomach contents of the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum from the Southern and Eastern Weddell Sea. Polar Biol 5:43–48
Hubold G, Ekau W (1987) On the midwater fish fauna of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Proc 5th Congr Eur Ichthyol, Stockholm pp 391–396
Hubold G, Tomo AP (1989) Age and growth of Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum Boulenger, 1902, from the Southern Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 9:205–212
Hughes GM (1966) The dimensions of fish gills in relation to their function. J Exp Biol 45:177–195
Hughes GM (1970) Morphological measurements on the gills of fishes in relation to their respiratory function. Folia Morphol (Prague) 18:78–95
Hughes GM (1972) Morphometrics of fish gills. Respir Physiol 14:1–26
Hughes GM (1984a) Measurement of gill area in fishes: Practices and problems. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 64:637–655
Hughes GM (1984b) General anatomy of the gills. In: Hoar WS, Randall DJ (eds) Fish Physiology, vol XA. AP, London, pp 1–72
Hughes GM (1984c) Scaling of respiratory areas in relation to oxygen consumption of vertebrates. Experientia 40:519–524
Hughes GM, Byczkowska-Smyk W (1974) Ultrastructure of the secondary gill lamella of the icefish Chaenocephalus aceratus. J Zool 174:79–87
Hughes GM, Iwai T (1978) A morphometric study of the gills in some Pacific deep-sea fishes. J Zool 184:155–170
Hughes GM, Morgan M (1973) The structure of fish gills in relation to their respiratory function. Biol Rev 48:419–475
Jakubowski M, Rembiszewski JM (1974) Vascularization and size of respiratory surfaces of gills and skin in the Antarctic fish Gymnodraco acuticeps. Bull Acad Pol Sci Ser Biol 22:305–313
Jakubowski M, Byczkowska-Symk W, Mikhalev Y (1969) Vascularization and size of the respiratory surfaces in the Antarctic whiteblooded fish Chaenichthys rugosus Regan. Zool Pol 19:503–515
Johnston IA, Camm JP, White M (1988) Specialisations of swimming muscles in the pelagic Antarctic fish Pleuragramma antarcticum. Mar Biol 100:3–12
Kock KH, Duhamel G, Hureau JC (1985) Biology and status of exploited Antarctic fish stocks:a review. Biomass Sci Ser 6:143
Kunzmann A (1986) Kiemenmorphometrie von zwei antarktischen Fischarten, Pleuragramma antarcticum und Notothenia gibberifrons. Thesis, Univ Kiel, 83 pp
Kunzmann A (1987) Gill morphometrics of an antarctic fish, Pleuragramma antarcticum. Proc 5th Congr Eur Ichthyol, Stockholm, pp 467–468
Macdonald JA, Montgomery JC, Wells RMG (1987) Comparative physiology of antarctic fishes. Adv Mar Biol 24:321–388
Macdonald JA, Montgomery JC, Wells RMG (1988) The physiology of McMurdo Sound fishes: Current New Zealand research. Comp Biochem Physiol 90B:567–578
Morris DJ, North AW (1984) Oxygen consumption of five species of fish from South Georgia. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 78 (1,2):75–86
Muir BS, Hughes GM (1969) Gill dimensions for three species of tuna. J Exp Biol 51:271–287
Pauly D (1979) Gill size and temperature as governing factors in fish growth. A generalization of von Bertalanffy's growth formula. Ber Inst Meereskd Kiel 63:156 pp
Pauly D (1981) The relationships between gill surface and growth performance in fish: a generalization of von Bertalanffy's theory of growth. Meeresforschung 28:251–282
Pfefferkorn G, Pfautsch M (1971) Präparation biologischer Objekte für die Elektronenmikroskopie. Beitr elektronenmikroskop Direktabb Oberfl 4:137–157
Ralph R, Everson J (1968) The respiratory metabolism of some antarctic fish. Comp Biochem Physiol 27:299–307
Romeis B (1968) Mikroskopische Technik. Oldenburg Verlag, München, 757 S
Steen JB, Berg T (1966) The gills of two species of hemoglobinfree fishes compared to those of other teleosts. Comp Biochem Physiol 18:517–526
Westermann MJE, Barber DL, Malo LG (1984) Observations on gills of pelagic and demersal juvenile Notothenia rossii. Br Antarct Surv Bull 65:81–89
Winberg GG (1960) Rate of metabolism and food requirements of fishes. Fish Res Board Can Transl Ser 194:239 pp
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kunzmann, A. Gill morphometrics of two Antarctic fish species Pleuragramma antarcticum and Notothenia gibberifrons . Polar Biol 11, 9–18 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00236516
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00236516