Abstract
Water, ash, C, H, N, lipid, carbohydrate, chitin and protein contents were determined for 28 species of midwater crustaceans. Variation of these components as a function of depth of occurrence, relative buouancy and respiratory rate of these species was examined. Vertical distribution data for 10 of the species based on discrete depth crawls is provided. The relative bouyancies of 16 of these species were measured. The caloric contents of 21 species were calculated. Lipid content (percent wet weight) and caloric density increased at intermediate depths, but apparently decreased at the greatest depths; it is suggested that this decrease is related to the relatively large size of these organisms and the energy limiting conditions in the deep-sea. Protein content (percent wet weight) decreases with increasing depth of occurrence, and is apparently related to a substantial fraction of the decrease in respiratory rate with increasing depth of occurrence in these species. Within the range of values examined, relative buoyancy appeas to be independent of metabolic rate. It is, therefore, suggested that the energy involved in maintaining an animal in the water column is generally insignificant compared to its overall activity. Furthermory, advantages of neutral buoyancy other than energy conservation may be more important selective factors for this characteristic.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Lexander, R.Mcn.: The energetics of vertical migration by fishes. In: The effects of pressure on organisms, pp 273–294. Ed. by M.A. Sleigh and A.G. Macdonald. New York: Academic Press 1972
Barham, E.G.: Deep-sea fishes lethargy and vertical orientation. pp 100–118 In: Proceedings of an international symposium on biological sound scattering in the ocean, Ed. by G.B. Farquhar. Washington, D.C.: Maury Center for Ocean Sciences, Dept. Navy 1971
— and G.B. Pickwell: The giant isopod Anuropus: a scyphozoan symbiont. Deep Sea Res. 16, 525–530 (1969)
Bell, P.M.: A critical study of methods for the determination of nonprotein nitrogen. Analyt. Biochem. 5, 443–451 (1963)
Boyd, C.M.: The benthic and pelagic habits of the red crab, Pleuroncodes planipes. Pacif. Sci. 21, 394–403 (1967)
Brusca, G.J.: The ecology of pelagic amphipoda, I. Species accounts, vertical zonation and migration of amphipoda from the waters off Southern California. Pacif. Sci. 21, 382–393 (1967)
Cutler, J.L. and W.G. Pearcy: Swimbladder morphology and specific gravity of myctophids off Oregon. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 29, 1145–1150 (1972)
Childress, J.J.: The respiratory physiology of the oxygen minimum layer mysid Gnathophausia ingens 144 pp. Ph. D. thesis, Stanford University 1968
— Respiratory rate and depth of occurrence of midwater animals. Limnol. Oceanogr. 16, 104–106 (1971)
Childress, J.J. The respiratory rate of midwater crustaceans as a function of depth of occurrence and relation to the oxygen minimum layer off Southern California. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. (In press).
— and R.P. Meek: Observations on the feeding behavior of a mesopelagic fish (Anoplogaster cornuta: Beryciformes). Copeia 1973, 602–603 (1973)
— and M. Nygaard: The chemical composition of midwater fishes as a function of depth of occurrence off Southern California. Deep Sea Res. 20, 1093–1110 (1973)
Clarke, W.D.: The genus Gnathophausia (Mysidacea, Crustacea), its systematics and distribution in the Pacific Ocean, 251 pp. Ph.D. thesis, San Diego, University of california 1962
— Bathyphotometric studies of the light regime of organisms of the deep scattering layers, 47 pp. Santa Barbara, California: G.M. Defense Research Laboratories, Sea Operations Department. Final Report 1966
Cowey, C.B. and E.D.S. Corner: Amino acids and some other nitrogenous compounds in Calanus finmarchicus. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 43, 485–493 (1963)
Culkin, F. and R.J. Morris: The fatty acids of some marine crustaceans. Deep Sea Res. 16, 109–116 (1969)
Davies, I.E. and E.G. Barham: The Tucker openingclosing micronekton net and its performance in a study of the deep scattering layer. Mar. Biol. 2, 127–131 (1969)
Denton, E. J. and N.B. Marshall: The buoyancy of bathypelagic fishes without a gas-filled swimbladder. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 37, 753–767 (1958)
Dubois, M., K.A. Gilles, J.K. Hamilton, P.A. Rebers and F. Smith: Colorometric method for determination of sugars and related substances. Analyt. Chem. 28, 350–356 (1956)
Folch, J., M. Lees and G.H.S. Stanley: A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipids from animal tissues. J. biol. Chem. 226, 497–509 (1956)
Foxton, P.: The vertical distribution of pelagic decapods (Crustacea: Natantia) collected on the Sond Cruise 1965. II. The Penaeidea and general discussion. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 50, 961–1000 (1970)
Giese, A.C.: Some methods for the study of the biochemical constitution of marine invertebrates. Oceanogr. mar. biol. A. Rev. 5, 159–186 (1969)
Herring, P.J.: Depth distribution of the carotenoid pigments and lipids of some oceanic animals. 1. Mixed zooplankton, copepods and euphausiids. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 52, 179–189 (1972)
— Depth distribution of the carotenoid pigments and lipids of some oceanic animals. 2. Decapod crustaceans. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53, 539–562 (1973)
Kleiber, M.: The fire of life, 454 pp. New York: John Wiley & Sons 1961
Lasker, R.: Feeding, growth, and carbon utilisation of a euphausiid crustacean. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 23, 1291–1317 (1966)
Lee, R.F., J. Hirota and A.M. Barnett: Distribution and importance of wax esters in marine copepods and other zooplankton. Deep Sea Res. 18, 1147–1166 (1971)
Lowry, O.H., N.J. Roseborough, A.L. Farr and R.J. Randall: Protein measurement with the folin phenol reagent. J. biol. Chem. 193, 265–275 (1951)
Marshall, N.B.: Swimbladder structure of deep-sea fishes in relation to their systematics and biology. ‘Discovery’ Rep. 31, 1–122 (1960)
Mauchline, J.: The biology of bathypelagic organisms, especially Crustacea. Deep Sea Res. 19, 753–780 (1972)
Morris, R.J.: Comparison of the composition of oceanic copepods from different depths. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 40B, 275–281 (1971a)
— Variations in the fatty acid composition of oceanic euphausiids. Deep Sea Res. 18, 525–529 (1971b)
— The occrrence of wax esters in crustaceans from the North-east Atlantic Ocean. Mar. Biol. 16, 102–107 (1972)
— Relationships between the sex and degree of maturity of marine crustaceans and their lipid compositions. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 53, 27–37 (1973)
Omori, M.: Weight and chemical composition of some important oceanic zooplankton in the North Pacific Ocean. Mar. Biol. 3, 4–10, (1969)
Parsons, J.D.H. and T.R. Strickland: A practical handbook of seawater analysis, 391 pp. Ottawa: Fisheries Research Board of Canada 1968
Pearcy, W.G. and C.A. Forss: Depth distribution of oceanic shrimps off Oregon. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 23, 1135–1143 (1966)
Pequegnat, L.H.: The bathypelagic mysid Cnathophausia and its distribution in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Pacif. Sci. 19, 399–421 (1965)
Raymont, J.E.G., J. Austin and E. Linford: The biochemical composition of certain oceanic zooplanktonic decapods. Deep Sea Res. 14, 113–115 (1967)
—, R.T. Srinivasagam and J.K.B. Raymont: Biochemical studies on marine zooplankton. VII. Observations on certain deep sea zooplankton. Int. Revue ges. Hydrobiol. 54, 357–365 (1969)
——: Biochemical studies on marine zooplankton. VIII. Further investigations on Meganyctyphanes norvegica. Deep Sea Res. 18, 1167–1178 (1971)
Tyler, A.V.: Caloric values of some North Atlantic invertebrates. Mar. Biol. 19, 258–261 (1973)
Vinogradov, M.Y., O.K. Bordovky, and Ye.A. Akmetyera: Biochemistry of oceanic plankton and chemical composition of plankton from different depths in the northwestern Pacific. Oceanology 10, 692–698 (1970)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J. Bunt, Miami
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Childress, J.J., Nygaard, M. Chemical composition and buoyancy of midwater crustaceans as function of depth of occurrence off Southern California. Marine Biology 27, 225–238 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391948
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391948