Abstract
The time course of faecal pellet production (egestion) was monitored in January 1985 for a population of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba Dana, maintained in flowing seawater aquaria at Palmer Station, Antarctica. Following transfer to filtered seawater, krill produced faecal strings for roughly 40 min, after which time faecal egestion virtually ceased. Similar results were obtained for freshly-trawled krill at sea in February and March 1985. There were wide daily variations in total faecal egestion rate; mean rates varied from 0.54 to 1.66 mg dry wt h-1 and individual rates from 0.25 to 2.35 mg h-1 (all data corrected to a standard krill of 600 mg fresh weight). Despite these wide fluctuations in total faecal egestion, the loss of organic matter showed no significant daily variation, with a mean value of 0.13 mgh-1. The relationship between faecal egestion rate and faecal organic content suggested that feeding rate was governed by food quality; when inorganic load was high, feeding rate increased to ensure sufficient energy intake. The data suggest that superfluous feeding does not occur in krill and that values of gut-clearance time calculated from time intervals greater than about 40 min will not be representative of previous feeding history. the rates of faecal egestion observed in this study indicate that the flux of faecal pellets from krill is substantial. They imply an energy intake in E. superba of 17 to 28% body weight per day, much higher than estimated previously for this species by summing known energy losses, but similar to estimates for other euphausiids.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Alldredge, A.L., Gotschalk, C. C., MacIntyre, S. (1987). Evidence for sustained residence of macrocrustacean fecal pellets in surface waters off Southern California. Deep-Sea Res. 34: 1641–1652
Antezana, T., Ray, K. (1984). Active feeding of Euphausia superba in a swarm north of Elephant Island. J. Crustacean Biol. (Lawrence, Kansas). 4: 142–155
Antezana, T., Ray, K., Melo, C. (1982). Trophic behavior of Euphausia superba Dana in laboratory conditions. Polar Biol. 1: 77–82
Baars, M. A., Helling, G. R. (1985). Methodological problems in the measurement of phytoplamkton ingestion rate by gut fluorescence. Hydrobiol. Bull. 19: 81–88
Bathmann, U. V., Noji, T. T., Voss, M., Peinert, R. (1987) Copepod faecal pellets: abundance, sedimentation and content of a permanent station in the Norwegian Sea. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 38: 45–51
Beklemishev, K. V. (1957). Superfluous feeding of marine herbivorous zooplankton. Trydÿ vses. gidrobiol. Obshch. 8: 354–358 [In Russ.]
Beklemishev, K. V. (1962). Superfluous feeding of marine herbivorous zooplankton. Rapp. P.-v. Réun. Cons. perm. int Explor. Mer 153: 108–113
Bone, D. G. (1986). An LHPR system for adult Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). Br. Antarct. Surv. Bull. 73: 31–46
Chekunova, V. I., Rynkova, T. I. (1974). Energy requirements of the Antarctic crustacean Euphausia superba Dana. Oceanology, Wash. 14: 434–440
Clarke, A. (1980). The biochemical composition of krill, Euphausia superba Dana, from South Georgia. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 43: 211–236
Clarke, A. (1987). Temperature, latitude and reproductive effort. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 38: 89–99
Clarke, A., Morris, D. J. (1983). Towards an energy budget for krill: the physiology and biochemistry of Euphausia superba Dana. Polar Biol. 2: 69–86
Conover, R. J. (1966). Factors affecting the assimilation of organic matter by zooplankton and the question of superfluous feeding. Limnol. Oceanogr. 11: 346–354
Conover, R. J. (1978). Transformation of organic matter. In: Kinne, O. (ed.) Marine ecology, Vol. IV, Dynamics. John Wiley, Chichester, p. 221–499
Cushing, D. H. (1975). Marine ecology and fisheries. University Press, Cambridge
Dagg, M. J., Wyman, K. D. (1983). Natural ingestion rates of the copepods Neocalanus plumchrus and N. cristatus calculated from gut contents. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 13: 37–46
Hargrave, B. T. (1972). Prediction of egestion by the deposit feeding amphipod Hyalella azteca. Oikos 23: 116–124
Kato, M., Segawa, S., Tanoue, E., Murano, M. (1982). Filtering and ingestion rates of the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba Dana. Trans. Tokyo Univ. Fish. 5: 167–175
Kiørboe, T., Møhlenberg, F., Nicolajsen, H. (1982). Ingestion rate and gut clearance in the planktonic copepod Centropages hamatus (Lilljeborg) in relation to food concentration and temperature. Ophelia 21: 181–194
Morris, D. J., Everson, I., Ricketts, C., Ward, P. (1984). Feeding of krill around South Georgia. II. Relations between feeding activity, environment and vertical distribution. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 20: 203–206
Morris, D. J., Ricketts, C. (1984). Feeding of krill around South Georgia. I: A model of feeding activity in relation to depth and time of day. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 16: 1–7
Morris, D. J., Ward, P., Clarke, A. (1983). Some aspects of feeding in the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. Polar Biol. 2: 21–26
Pilskaln, C. H., Honjo, S. (1987). The faecal pellet fraction of biogeochemical fluxes to the deep sea. Global biogeochem. Cycles. 1: 31–48
Ross, R. M. (1982). Energetics of Euphausia pacifica. I. Effects of body carbon and nitrogen on measured and predicted production. Mar. Biol. 68: 1–13
Ross, R. M., Quetin, L. B. (1986). How productive are Antarctic krill? BioSci. 36: 264–269
Ross, R. M., Quetin, L. B., Amsler, M. O. (1985). Euphausia superba: a preliminary report on three areas of investigation. Antarct. J. U.S. 19: 153–155
Samyshev, E. Z., Lushev, A. I. (1983). Food ration and its components in Antarctic krill. Oceanology, Wash 23: 763–766
Sawamoto, S., Kikuno, T., Sugai, J., Komaki, Y. (1983). Some observations on the feeding activity of Antarctic krill in the Indian sector of the Antarctic Ocean. Antarct. Rec. 77: 44–54
Schnack, S. B. (1985). Feeding by Euphausia superba and copepod species in response to varying concentration of phytoplankton. In: Siegfried, W. R., Condy, P. R., Laws, R. M. (eds.) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p. 311–329
Stuart, V. (1986). Feeding and metabolism of Euphausia lucens (Euphausiacea) in the southern Benguela current. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 30: 117–125
Tanoue, E., Hara, S. (1986). Ecological implications of fecal pellets produced by the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba in the Antarctic Ocean. Mar. Biol. 91: 359–369
Torres, J. J. (1984). Relationship of oxygen consumption to swimming speed in Euphausia pacifica. II. Drag, efficiency and a comparison with other swimming organisms. Mar. Biol. 78: 231–237
Torres, J. J., Childress, J. J. (1983). Relationship of oxygen consumption to swimming speed in Euphausia pacifica. I. Effects of temperature and pressure. Mar. Biol. 74: 79–86
Torres, J. J., Childress, J. J., Quetin, L. B. (1982). A pressure vessel for the simultaneous determination of oxygen consumption and swimming speed in zooplankton. Deep-Sea Res. 29: 631–639
Witek, Z., Kalinowski, J., Grelowski, A., Wolnomiejski, N. (1981). Studies of aggregations of krill (Euphausia superba). Meeresforsch. Rep. mar. Res. 28: 228–243. (Ber. dt. wiss. Kommn Meeresforsch.)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clarke, A., Quetin, L.B. & Ross, R.M. Laboratory and field estimates of the rate of faecal pellet production by Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba . Marine Biology 98, 557–563 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391547
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391547