Meeting Abstract

 

139-3  Monday, Jan. 7 14:00 – 14:15  The ciliated groove of salps: A new perspective MOSS, A.G.*; MADIN, L.P.; Auburn University; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tony@auburn.edu http://www.auburn.edu/~mossant

We examined the ciliated grooves of Pegea socia, Salpa maxima and Cyclosalpa affinis by video and scanning electron microscopy of the anterior ciliated pouch, to reveal details of the ciliary organization and activity. P. socia and S. maxima display very similar overall organization, with lateral fields of cilia that beat with symplectic metachrony (i.e. waves in direction of the power stroke) that concentrate algal particles and transport them to the midline of the ciliated groove inside the pouch. The algae, heavily wrapped in mucus concentrate, are excluded from the anterior pouch by ciliary action and do not pass through a ciliary pump formed of knifelike, flattened cirri. In contrast, single mucous-free styrene fluorescent particles pass through the ciliary pump directly into the bloodstream. The upper limit for particle passage is ~15 μm dia; they are forced at high speed into the blood, indicating that the particles are under significant pressure. Particle size correlates with circulation access pore diameter in the radialmost regions of the pouch. C. affinis lacks the pouch-enclosed ciliated complex and instead bears a serpentine ciliary band that covers the posterior wall of the anterior chamber, in roughly the same location as the ciliated groove pouch in P. socia and S. maxima. Transport of fluids and associated algal particles is unclear in this species. There appears to be no access to the blood volume from the C. affinis ciliated band. Its primary function appears to be the clearance of material from the anterior chamber so that it flows into the orthogonally woven algae-collecting mucus net, which arises from ciliated bands in the inhalent chamber.