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Oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion of herbivorous chironomid larvae in Lake Balaton

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Abstract

The oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion of a herbivorous midge larva,Chironomus sp., inhabiting Lake Balaton was measured at two different temperatures. The loss of energy through respiration and that through ammonia excretion were calculated. The daily respiratory energy loss amounted to 655.5 ± 123.8 J g−1 at 17 °C and to 1 160.0 ± 168.4 J g−1 (dry weight) at 25 °C. Mean energy loss through ammonia excretion was about 40% less than through respiration.

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  1. Biological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-8237, Tihany, Hungary

    István Tátrai

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  1. István Tátrai
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Tátrai, I. Oxygen consumption and ammonia excretion of herbivorous chironomid larvae in Lake Balaton. Hydrobiologia 96, 129–135 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185428

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02185428

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