Bacterivory by bipinnarias: In the Antarctic but not in California

Bipinnarias of the Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus ingest bacteria at ambient concentrations, as shown by liquid scintillation counting and autoradiography of larvae allowed to feed on bacteria labeled with tritiated thymidine. Moreover, they grow equally well in culture when provided bacteria...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American zoologist 1991-01, Vol.31 (5), p.6A-6A
Main Authors: Pearse, J S, Bosch, I, Pearse, V B, Basch, LV
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asterina miniata
Marine
Odontaster validus
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Summary:Bipinnarias of the Antarctic sea star Odontaster validus ingest bacteria at ambient concentrations, as shown by liquid scintillation counting and autoradiography of larvae allowed to feed on bacteria labeled with tritiated thymidine. Moreover, they grow equally well in culture when provided bacteria alone or bacteria plus microalgae, both foods either laboratory-cultured or field-collected. In contrast, the morphologically near-identical bipinnarias of the northeast Pacific sea star Asterina miniata ingest insignificant amounts of labeled bacteria, and they do not survive when provided with only bacteria for food. It remains to be determined how the antarctic larvae capture bacteria, whereas the temperate ones do not, and whether bacteria comprise an important part of their natural food.
ISSN:0003-1569