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Respiration and excretion by the ctenophore Mnepiopsis leidyi

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Abstract

Respiration (dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide) and excretion (dissolved organic carbon, inorganic and organic nitrogen and phosphorus) rates were measured for a variety of sizes of Mnemiopsis leidyi over a temperature range of 10.3° to 24.5°C. Both respiration and excretion rates were a direct linear function of animal weight and very temperature sensitive (Q10≊4). Oxygen uptake ranged from 155 to 489 μg at O/(g dry weight) day-1 and carbon dioxide release from 43 to 166 μM. Organic carbon made up about 38% of the total carbon released. Inorganic nitrogen excretion, exclusively in the form of ammonium, comprised 54% of the total nitrogen release and ranged from 10 to 36 μM NH4/(g dry weight) day-1. Average release of dissolved primary amines (expressed as glycine equivalents) equaled 43% of the organic nitrogen fraction. Inorganic phosphorus release ranged from 2.0 to 4.9 μM/(g dry weight) day-1 and made up about 72% of the total phosphorus loss. The turnover of elements in the body was calculated as 5 to 19% per day for carbon and nitrogen, depending on the temperature, and an even higher 20 to 48% per day for phosphorus. These values are comparable to rates observed for small, active zooplankton.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA

    P. Kremer

  2. Allan Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California, 90007, Los Angeles, California, USA

    P. Kremer

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  1. P. Kremer
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Communicated by J.S. Pearse, Santa Cruz

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Kremer, P. Respiration and excretion by the ctenophore Mnepiopsis leidyi . Mar. Biol. 44, 43–50 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386903

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