Macroalgae are considerably less diverse at polar latitudes than in most temperate and tropical regions but they can still be very important components of benthic marine communities in polar waters (Dayton 1990; Wiencke et al. 2007). In fact, at some locations they can rival the biomass present in temperate kelp forests (e.g., Amsler et al. 1995). Wiencke et al. (2007) recently reviewed the ecophysiology and ecology of polar macroalgae and provided a brief overview of the state of our knowledge about their chemical defenses. The present chapter significantly expands upon that overview. Previous in-depth reviews of Antarctic marine chemical ecology (Amsler et al. 2001a, b) included macroalgae, but our knowledge of Antarctic macroalgal chemical ecology, although still relatively sparse when compared with lower latitudes, has expanded greatly since 2001. Indeed, of the 14 published or unpublished studies of polar macroalgal chemical defenses featured herein, only 3 were completed before 2001. Likewise, potential ecological roles of some Antarctic macroalgal secondary metabolites have been determined in recent years (Ankisetty et al. 2004; Lebar et al. 2007), but there are still relatively few secondary metabolites known from polar macroalgae. Not counting mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs; see Chap. 13) or volatile halogenated organic compounds (VHOCs) (see Chap. 12), both of which include specific compounds produced by a wide diversity of algae, there are only 64 macroalgal secondary metabolites known from Antarctica and none from the Arctic Ocean (other than a presumption of the presence of phlorotannins in Arctic brown algae; Amsler et al. 2001a; Blunt et al. 2006; Lebar et al. 2007). There are, however, 18 macroalgal secondary metabolites known from northern areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that experience ice cover during some times of the year (Blunt et al. 2006; Lebar et al. 2007).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Amsler CD, Fairhead VA (2006) Defensive and sensory chemical ecology of brown algae. Adv Bot Res 43:1–91
Amsler CD, Iken K, McClintock JB, Amsler MO, Peters KJ, Hubbard JM, Furrow FB, Baker BJ (2005a) Comprehensive evaluation of the palatability and chemical defenses of subtidal macroalgae from the Antarctic Peninsula. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 294:141–159
Amsler CD, Iken KB, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2001a) Secondary metabolites from Antarctic marine organisms and their ecological implications. In: McClintock JB, Baker BJ (eds) Marine chemical ecology. CRC, Boca Raton, FL, pp 267–300
Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (1998) Chemical defense against herbivory in the Antarctic marine macroalgae Iridaea cordata and Phyllophora antarctica (Rhodophyceae). J Phycol 34:53–59
Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (1999) An Antarctic feeding triangle: defensive interactions between macroalgae, sea urchins, and sea anemones. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 183:105–114
Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2001b) Secondary metabolites as mediators of trophic interactions among Antarctic marine organisms. Am Zool 41:17–26
Amsler CD, Okogbue IN, Landry DM, Amsler MO, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2005b) Potential chemical defenses against diatom fouling in Antarctic macroalgae. Bot Mar 48:318–322
Amsler CD, Rowley RJ, Laur DR, Quetin LB, Ross RM (1995) Vertical distribution of Antarctic Peninsular macroalgae: cover, biomass, and species composition. Phycologia 34:424–430
Ankisetty S, Nandiraju S, Win H, Park YC, Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker JA, Diyabalanage TK, Pasaribu A, Singh MP, Maiese WM, Walsh RD, Zaworotko MJ, Baker BJ (2004) Chemical investigation of predator-deterred macroalgae from the Antarctic Peninsula. J Nat Prod 67:1295–1302
Baker BJ (1996) Carboline and isoquinoline alkaloids from marine organisms. In: Pelletier SW (ed) Alkaloids: chemical and biological perspectives, vol 10. Pergamon, Oxford, pp 357–407
Baldauf SL (2003) The deep roots of eukaryotes. Science 300:1703–1706
Blunt JW, Copp BR, Munro MHG, Northcote PT, Prinsep MR (2006) Marine natural products. Nat Prod Rep 23:26–78
Boettcher AA, Targett NM (1993) Role of polyphenolic molecular size in reduction of assimilation efficiency in Xiphister mucosus. Ecology 74:891–903
Brand TE (1976) Trophic relationships of selected benthic marine invertebrates and foraminifera in Antarctica. Antarctic J US 11:24–26
Brand TE (1980) Trophic interactions and community ecology of the shallow-water marine benthos along the Antarctic Peninsula. PhD Dissertation, University of California Davis
Cormaci M, Furnari G, Scammacca B (1992) The benthic algal flora of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica). Bot Mar 35:541–552
Cronin G (2001) Resource allocation in seaweeds and marine invertebrates. In: McClintock JB, Baker BJ (eds) Marine chemical ecology. CRC, Boca Raton FL, pp 325–363
Dawson R, Schramm W, Bolter M (1985) Factors influencing the production, decomposition and distribution of organic matter in Admirality Bay, King George Island. In: Seigfried WR, Condy PR, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 109–114
Dayton PK (1990) Polar benthos. In: Smith WO, Jr (ed) Polar oceanography, Part B: chemistry, biology, and geology. Academic, New York, pp 631–685
Dayton PK, Robillard GA, Paine RT (1970) Benthic faunal zonation as a result of anchor ice at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In: Holgate MW (ed) Antarctic ecology, vol 1. Academic, New York, pp 244–258
DeLaca TE, Lipps JH (1976) Shallow water marine associations, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic J US 11:12–20
Dunton K (2001) δ15N and δ13C measurements of Antarctic Peninsula fauna: trophic relationships and assimilation of benthic seaweeds. Am Zool 41:99–112
Dunton KH, Schell DM (1987) Dependence of consumers on macroalgal (Laminaria solidungula) carbon in an arctic kelp community. δ13C evidence. Mar Biol 93:615–625
Elner R, Vadas RJ (1990) Inference in ecology: the sea urchin phenomenon in the northwest Atlantic. Am Nat 136:108–125
Fairhead VA, Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2005a) Within-thallus variation in chemical and physical defenses in two species of ecologically dominant brown macroalgae from the Antarctic Peninsula. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 233:1–12
Fairhead VA, Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2005b) Variation in phlorotannin content within two species of brown macroalgae (Desmarestia anceps and D. menziesii) from the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 28:680–686
Fairhead VA, Amsler CD, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2006) Lack of defense or phlorotannin induction by UV radiation or mesograzers in Desmarestia anceps and D. menziesii (Phaeophyceae). J Phycol 42:1174–1183
Fischer G, Wiencke C (1992) Stable carbon isotope composition, depth distribution and fate of macroalgae from the Antarctic Peninsula region. Polar Biol 12:341–348
Foster MS (1992) How important is grazing to seaweed evolution and assemblage structure in the north-east Pacific? In: John DM, Hawkins SJ, Price JH (eds) Plant-animal interactions in the marine benthos. Clarendon, Oxford, pp 61–85
Frederick JE, Qu Z, Booth CR (1998) Ultraviolet radiation at sites on the Antarctic coast. Photochem Photobiol 68:183–190
Graeve M, Dauby P, Scailteur Y (2001) Combined lipid, fatty acid and digestive tract content analyses: a penetrating approach to estimate feeding modes of Antarctic amphipods. Polar Biol 24:853–862
Harvell CD (1990) The ecology and evolution of inducible defenses. Q Rev Biol 65:323–340
Hay ME (1996) Marine chemical ecology: what’s known and what’s next? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 200:103–134
Hay ME, Fenical W (1988) Marine plant-herbivore interactions: the ecology of chemical defense. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 19:111–145
Hay ME, Steinberg PD (1992) The chemical ecology of plant-herbivore interactions in marine versus terrestrial communities. In: Rosenthal GA, Berenbaum, MR (eds) Herbivores: their interactions with secondary plant metabolites, vol. II: Evolutionary and ecological processes. Academic, New York
Heywood RB, Whitaker TM (1984) The Antarctic marine flora. In: Laws RM (ed) Antarctic ecology, vol 2. Academic, London, pp 373–419
Huang YM, Amsler MO, McClintock JB, Amsler CD, Baker BJ (2007) Patterns of gammaridean amphipod abundance and species composition associated with dominant subtidal macroalgae from the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 30:1417–1430
Huang YM, McClintock JB, Amsler CD, Peters KJ, Baker BJ (2006) Feeding rates of common Antarctic gammarid amphipods on ecologically important sympatric macroalgae. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 329:55–65
Iken K (1996) Trophic relations between macroalgae and herbivores in Potter Cove (King George Island, Antarctica). Rep Polar Res 201:1–206
Iken K (1999) Feeding ecology of the Antarctic herbivorous gastropod Laevilacunaria antarctica Martens. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 236:133–148
Iken K, Amsler CD, Hubbard JM, McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2007) Allocation patterns of phlorotannins in Antarctic brown algae. Phycologia 46:386–395
Iken K, Barrera-Oro ER, Quartino ML, Casaux RJ, Brey T (1997) Grazing in the Antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps: evidence for selective feeding on macroalgae. Antarctic Sci 9:386–391
Jazdzewski K, Teodorczyk W, Sicinski J, Kontek B (1991) Amphipod crustaceans as an important component of zoobenthos of the shallow Antarctic sublittoral. Hydrobiologia 223:105–117
Karban R, Meyers JH (1989) Induced plant responses to herbivory. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 20:331–348
Kim D (2001) Seasonality of marine algae and grazers of an Antarctic rocky intertidal, with emphasis on the role of the limpet Nacella concinna Strebel (Gastropoda: Patellidae). Berichte zur Polar- und Meeresforschung 397:1–120
Laturnus F (1995) Release of volatile halogenated organic-compounds by unialgal cultures of polar macroalgae. Chemosphere 31:3387–3395
Laturnus F (2001) Marine macroalgae in polar regions as natural sources for volatile organohalogens. Environ Sci Pollut Res 8:103–108
Laturnus F, Adams FC, Gomez I, Mehrtens G (1997) Halogenating activities detected in Antarctic macroalgae. Polar Biol 17:281–284
Laturnus F, Wiencke C, Kloser H (1996) Antarctic macroalgae – sources of volatile halogenated organic compounds. Mar Environ Res 41:169–181
Lebar ML, Heimbegner JL, Baker BJ (2007) Cold-water marine natural products. Nat Prod Rep 24:774–797
Lippert H, Iken K, Rachor E, Wiencke C (2001) Macrofauna associated with macroalgae in the Kongsfjord (Spitsbergen). Polar Biol 24:512–522
McClintock JB, Baker BJ (2001) Marine chemical ecology. CRC, Boca Raton, FL
Miller KA, Pearse JS (1991) Ecological studies of seaweeds in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Am Zool 31:35–48
Neushul M (1965) Diving observation of sub-tidal Antarctic marine vegetation. Bot Mar 8:234–243
Neushul M (1968) Benthic marine algae. Antarctic Map Folio Ser 10:9–10, plates 14–15
Norkko A, Thrush SF, Cummings VJ, Funnell GA, Schwarz AM, Andrew NL, Hawes I (2004) Ecological role of Phyllophora antarctica drift accumulations in coastal soft-sediment communities of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Polar Biol 27:482–494
Pavia H, Cervin G, Lindgren A, Åberg P (1997) Effects of UV-B radiation and simulated herbivory on phlorotannins in the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 157:139–146
Peters AF (2003) Molecular identification, taxonomy and distribution of brown algal endophytes, with emphasis on species from Antarctica. In: Chapman ARO, Anderson RJ, Vreeland V, Davison IR (eds) Proceedings of the 17th international seaweed symposium. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 293–302
Peters KJ, Amsler CD, Amsler MO, McClintock JB, Dunbar RB, Baker BJ (2005) A comparative analysis of the nutritional and elemental composition of macroalgae from the western Antarctic Peninsula. Phycologia 44:453–463
Raffauf RF (1996) Plant alkaloids: a guide to their discovery and distribution. Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY
Reichardt W (1987) Burial of Antarctic macroalgal debris in bioturbated deep-sea sediments. Deep-Sea Res 34:1761–1770
Rhoades D (1979) Evolution of plant chemical defenses against herbivores. In: Rosenthal GA, Janzen DH (eds) Herbivores. Academic, New York, pp 4–54
Richardson MG (1971) The ecology and physiological aspects of Antarctic weed dwelling amphipods (Preliminary report, II). British Antarctic Survey Report N9/1971(-72)/H:1–16
Richardson MG (1975) The dietary composition of some Antarctic fish. Br Antarct Surv Bull 41/42:113–120
Richardson MG (1977) The ecology including physiological aspects of selected Antarctic marine invertebrates associated with inshore macrophytes. PhD Dissertation, Department of Zoology, University of Durham
Schwarz AM, Hawes I, Andrew N, Norkko A, Cummings V, Thrush S (2003) Macroalgal photosynthesis near the southern global limit for growth; Cape Evans, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Polar Biol 26:789–799
Sivertsen K (1997) Geographic and environmental factors affecting the distribution of kelp beds and barren grounds and changes in biota associated with kelp reduction at sites along the Norwegian coast. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 54:2872–2887
Wessels H, Hagen W, Molis M, Wiencke C, Karsten U (2006) Intra- and interspecific differences in palatability of Arctic macroalgae from Kongsfjorden (Spitsbergen) for two benthic sympatric invertebrates. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 329:20–33
Wiencke C, Clayton MN (2002) Antarctic seaweeds. ARG Gantner Verlag KG, Ruggell, Liechtenstein
Wiencke C, Clayton MN, Gómez I, Iken K, Lüder UH, Amsler CD, Karsten U, Hanelt D, Bischof K, Dunton K (2007) Life strategy, ecophysiology and ecology of seaweeds in polar waters. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 6:95–126
Wright JT, de Nys R, Poore AGB, Steinberg PD (2004) Chemical defense in a marine alga: heritability and the potential for selection by herbivores. Ecology 85:2946–2959
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Baker, B.J., Amsler, C.D., McClintock, J.B. (2008). Macroalgal Chemical Defenses in Polar Marine Communities. In: Amsler, C.D. (eds) Algal Chemical Ecology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74181-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74181-7_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-74180-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-74181-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)