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Cold resistance in the eggs of the capelin Mallotus villosus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

John Davenport ,
Ola Vahl  and
Sunniva Lönning
John Davenport
Affiliation:
N.E.R.C. Unit of Marine Invertebrate Biology, Marine Science Laboratories, Menai Bridge, Gwynedd
Ola Vahl
Affiliation:
Institute of Fisheries, University of Tromsö, P.O. Box 790, N-9001 Tromsö, Norway
Sunniva Lönning
Affiliation:
Institute of Biology and Geology, University of Tromsö, P.O. Box 790, 6–9001 Tromsö, Norway
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Extract

Eggs of the capelin, Mallotus villosus, are laid superficially on sandy beaches where they may be exposed to temperatures below –5 °C during tidal emersion. The eggs do not freeze until the temperature of their surroundings falls to a mean of –11.9 °C for eggs at the late blastula stage and –10.6 °C for eggs about to hatch, even though films of sea water covering the eggs are frozen. Newly hatched capelin larvae freeze at a mean temperature of –2.5 °C when the sea water surrounding them freezes, and are probably supercooled at temperatures below this before hatching. Evidence is presented which demonstrates that capelin eggs survive low temperatures by supercooling, and that they can do so in the presence of external ice crystals because the chorion prevents ice penetration and hence seeding of the eggs' internal fluids. The chorion of Mallows is shown to possess an extra secondary layer, like that of the related smelts. The primary function of this outer layer appears to be be concerned with adhesion to sand grains but it seems likely that it also prevents or delays ice penetration.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , May 1979 , pp. 443 - 453
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1979

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References

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