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The energetic cost of egg production in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2004

Stephen Nicol
Affiliation:
Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia
William K. De La Mare
Affiliation:
Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia
Martin Stolp
Affiliation:
Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia

Abstract

A female Antarctic krill loses 34% of its body mass when it lays a batch of eggs. This represents a considerable input of energy which was estimated using a combination of measured mass and energy differences in female krill and from the measured energetic content of ovarian tissue. Large (c. 50 mm) female krill lose 2.9–3.8 kJ each time a batch of eggs is laid. Calculations using this figure indicate that multiple spawning by Antarctic krill in a season would require above average phytoplankton concentrations (> 0.5 μg chl a 1−1) and filtration rates which are close to the maximum reported (> 10 l h−1).

Type
Papers—Life Sciences and Oceanography
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 1995

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