Abstract
Faecal pellet formation within the gut of Stage V and adult females of the copepod Calanus helgolandicus Claus involves (1) cyclical processes of digestion and (2) the contribution of parts of the gut epithelium to the pellets. During an experimental regime in which dim lighting was restricted to day-time and feeding to night-time (17.00 to 09.00 hrs), the copepods responded with cyclical changes in both the quantity of pellets they produced and the fine structure of the contents. During the feeding period, the contents showed changes in the relative amounts of materials originating from disintegrated cells of the digestive epithelium and those derived directly from the ingested food. The vacuolar B-cells of the gut contribute to the content of the pellets and the distal, necrotic N-cells appear to be involved in forming the peritrophic membrane which encloses each pellet. Cells of the gut epithelium which are broken down during feeding are all replaced during the non-feeding period. Other individuals were taken directly from the sea and in these, also, the cells of the gut broke down during feeding and contributed to the faecal pellets. The supply of epithelial cells may limit the duration of the feeding period.
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Communicated by J. Mauchline, Oban
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Nott, J.A., Corner, E.D.S., Marvin, L.J. et al. Cyclical contributions of the digestive epithelium to faecal pellet formation by the copepod Calanus helgolandicus . Mar. Biol. 89, 271–279 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00393661
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00393661