Pigmentation and spectral absorbance in the deep-sea arctic amphipods Eurythenes gryllus and Anonyx sp.

Abstract

As for many deep-sea animals, the red colouration of the two amphipods Eurythenes gryllus and Anonyx sp. has an important function providing camouflage, as the attenuation of the red wavelengths in seawater is higher than other colours within the visible range. Variation in colouration between different stages of colour intensity (related to size) is evident in both species. The red colour is caused by carotenoids, and the carotenoid composition was identified and quantified using spectral optical density signatures, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The carotenoid astaxanthin was identified as the major carotenoid in both amphipods, both in pure and in esterified forms. In addition, minor amounts of lutein-like, canthaxanthin-like and several unidentified carotenoids were found in E. gryllus, while diatoxanthin, β,β-carotene and canthaxanthin-like carotenoids were detected in Anonyx sp. Generally, both species displayed an increase in the amount of carotenoids as a function of colour intensity and size. Shifts in λmax in the OD (Optical density; dimensionless, acronym absorbance) spectra were evident in both species between the different colour stages in both the in vivo and the in vitro material, probably caused by changes in pigment composition. Similar shifts in λmax were observed between the in vivo and in vitro pigment raw extracts in general, most likely caused by pigment-binding proteins. The differences in pigment composition and wavelength shifts suggest large intra- and inter-specific differences between the two species. Probable reasons for changes in pigment composition could be related to diet, season, moulting patterns, metabolic pathways and reproduction. © 2010 The Author(s).