Fishes of Antarctica A biological overview

The Antarctic fish fauna has evolved over a long period of geographic and climatic isolation. In the course of this evolution, Antarctic fish have developed specialized adaptations, some of which characterize these organisms as unique. In strong contrast to the continental shelf faunas elsewhere, the Antarctic shelf ichthyofauna is dominated by a single highly endemic group, the Notothenioidei. This group of perciform fish probably first appeared and diversified in the early Tertiary. The development of the Polar Front (referred to as the Antarctic Convergence in the older literature) resulted in a natural oceanographic barrier to migration in either direction, and thus became a key factor in the evolution of Antarctic fish. The dominance of the Antarctic continental shelf fauna by a single taxonomic group of fish provides a simplified natural laboratory for exploring the wealth of physiological, biochemical and ecological adaptations that characterize the fauna. Understanding of the patterns of adaptation in this highly specialized group of fish can tell us much about of evolution.

A Comparison of Adaptive Radiations of Antarctic Fish with those of NonAntarctic Fish.- Age, Growth and Maximum Size of Antarctic Notothenioid Fish — Revisited.- Maternal Output in Polar Fish Reproduction.- Development, Dispersal and Recruitment: A Paradox for Survival Among Antarctic Fish.- The Pelagic Fish Community of the Polar Frontal Zone off the Kerguelen Islands.- Preliminary Investigations on the Evolution of the Tribe Electronini (Myctophiformes, Myctophidae).- Diversity of Digenea, Parasites of Fishes in Various Areas of the Antarctic.- Cold Adaptation and Stenothermy in Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes: What Has Been Gained and What Has Been Lost.- Do Antarctic Fish Respond to Heat Shock?.- Aspects of Eco-Physiological Adaptations in Antarctic Fish.- The Oxidative Metabolism of Antarctic Fish: Some Peculiar Aspects of Cold Adaptation.- Molecular Adaptation of Microtubules and Microtubule Motors from Antarctic Fish.- Metallothionein in Antarctic Fish.- Respiration and Activity of Arctic and Antarctic Fish with Different Modes of Life: A Multivariate Analysis of Experimental Data.- Antarctic Fish Immunoglobulins: Preliminary Data on Structure and Antibody Specificity.- Vascular Adaptations for a Low Pressure/High Flow Blood Supply to Locomotory Muscles of Antarctic Icefish.- Cardiac and Locomotory Muscle Mass in Antarctic Fishes.- Natriuretic Peptides in Antarctic Teleosts: Cardiac Receptors in Chionodraco hamatus and Trematomus bernacchii.- Atrial Natriuretic Peptides in Antarctic Fish.- Exercise in the Cold: High Energy Turnover in Antarctic Fish.- Ion and Metabolite Transport Through the Intestinal Luminal Membranes of the Antarctic Fish Trematomus bernacchii.- The Neuroendocrine System in the Intestinal Tract and Pancreas of Antarctic Fish.- Four Years in Notothenioid Systematics: A Molecular Perspective.- Chromosome Diversification in Antarctic Fish (Notothenioidei).- Phylogeny of the Channichthyidae (Notothenioidei, Teleostei) Based on Two Mitochondrial Genes.- Allozymic Polymorphism and Phylogeny of the Family Channichthyidae.- Origin and Mechanism of Evolution of Antifreeze Glycoproteins in Polar Fishes.- Evolution of Sensory Systems: A Comparison of Antarctic and Deep-Sea Ichthyofauna.- Molecular Adaptations in Antarctic Fish Hemoglobins.- Evolutionary Studies on Teleost Hemoglobin Sequences.