Abstract
Oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and phosphate excretion rates were measured on Sagitta gazellae Ritter-Zahony, in conjunction with body composition analyses (water, ash, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and phosphorus). Both water content (94.7% of wet weight) and ash content (53.0% of dry weight) recorded on S. gazellae were the highest and the lowest, respectively, among the chaetognath data being reported. Contents of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen of S. gazellae were the lowest among published values of chaetognaths. Metabolic comparison with other chaetognaths living in similar subzero water temperature revealed reduced rates in S. gazellae, while no appreciable differences were seen in the metabolic quotients (O:N, N:P and O:P ratios). The O:N atomic ratios were 10.5 to 15.9 indicating protein oriented metabolism. Reduced metabolic activity of S. gazellae is not due to their body composition as calculated daily metabolic losses of body carbon (0.50%), body nitrogen (0.38) and body phosphorus (1.6%) were also found to be lower than respective values reported on other congeners and even those of other zooplankton living in the Antarctic waters.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Alvarinõ, A. (1965). Chaetognaths. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 3: 115–194
Båmstedt, U. (1979). Seasonal variation in the respiratory rate and ETS activity of deep-water zooplankton from the Swedish west coast. In: Naylor, E., Hartnoll, R. G. (eds.) Cyclic phenomena in marine plants and animals. Oxford: Pergamon Press, p. 267–274
Beers, J. R. (1964). Ammonia and inorganic phosphorus excretion by the planktonic chaetognath, Sagitta hispida Conant. J. Cons. perm. int. Explor. Mer 29: 123–129
Beers, J. R. (1966). Studies on the chemical composition of the major zooplankton groups in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda. Limnol. Oceanogr. 11: 520–528
Clarke, M. R. (1969). A new midwater trawl for sampling discrete depth horizons. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 49: 945–960
Conway, D. V. P., Williams, R. (1986). Seasonal population structure, vertical distribution and migration of the chaetognath Sagitta elegans in the Celtic Sea. Mar. Biol. 93: 377–387
Curl, H., Jr. (1962). Standing crops of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus and transfer between trophic levels, in continental shelf waters south of New York. Rapp. p.-v. Cons. Int. Explor Mer 153: 183–189
David, P. M. (1955). The distribution of Sagitta gazellae Ritter-Zahony. Discovery Rep. 27: 235–278
David, P. M. (1958). The distribution of the Chaetognatha of the Southern Ocean. Discovery Rep. 29: 199–228
Gnaiger, E. (1983). Calculation of energetic and biochemical equivalents of respiratory oxygen consumption. In: Gnaiger, E., Horstner, H. (eds.). Polarographic oxygen sensors, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, p. 337–345
Ikeda, T. (1974). Nutritional ecology of marine zooplankton. Mem. Fac. Fish., Hokkaido University 22: 1–97
Ikeda, T. (1977). The effect of laboratory conditions on the extrapolation of experimental measurements to the ecology of marine zooplankton. IV. Changes in respiration and excretion rates of boreal zooplankton species maintained under fed and starved conditions. Mar. Biol. 41: 241–252
Ikeda, T. (1985). Metabolic rates of epipelagic marine zooplankton as a function of body mass and temperature. Mar. Biol. 85: 1–11
Ikeda, T., Hing Fay, E., Hutchinson, S.A., Boto, G. M. (1982). Ammonia and inorganic phosphate excretion by zooplankton from inshore waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. I. Relationship between excretion rates and body size. Aust. J. mar. Freshwater Res. 33: 55–70
Ikeda, T., Mitchell, A. W. (1982). Oxygen uptake, ammonia excretion and phosphate excretion by krill and other Antarctic zooplankton in relation to their body size and chemical composition. Mar. Biol. 71: 283–298
Ikeda, T., Skjoldal, H. R. (1980). The effect of laboratory conditions on the extrapolation of experimental measurements to the ecology of marine zooplankton. VI. Changes in physiological activities and biochemical components of Acetes sibogae australis and Acartia australis after capture. Mar. Biol. 58: 285–293
Ikeda, T., Skjoldal, H. R. (1988). Metabolism and elemental composition of zooplankton from the Barents Sea during early Arctic summer. Mar. Biol. (in press)
Kotori, M. (1976). The biology of chaetognaths in the Bering Sea and the northern North Pacific Ocean, with emphasis on Sagitta elegans. Mem. Fac. Fish., Hokkaido University 23: 95–183
Larson, R. J. (1986). Water content, organic content, and carbon and nitrogen composition of medusae from the northeast Pacific. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 99: 107–120
Mayzaud, P. (1973). Respiration and nitrogen excretion of zooplankton. II. Studies of the metabolic characteristics of starved animals. Mar. Biol. 21: 19–28
Mayzaud, P., Martin, J.-L. M. (1975). Some aspects of the biochemical and mineral composition of marine plankton. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 17: 297–310
Omori, M. (1965). A 160-cm opening-closing plankton net. J. Oceanogr. Soc. Japan 21: 212–220
Omori, M. (1969). Weight and chemical composition of some important oceanic zooplankton in the North Pacific Ocean. Mar. Biol. 3: 4–10
Omori, M., Ikeda, T. (1984): Methods in marine zooplankton ecology. John Wiley and Sons, New York
O'Sullivan, D. (1982). A guide to the chaetognaths of the Southern Ocean and adjacent waters. ANARE Res. Notes 2: 1–57
Percy, J. A., Fife, F. J. (1981). The biochemical composition and energy content of Arctic marine macrozooplankton. Arctic 34: 307–313
Reeve, M. R., Raymont, J. E. G., Raymont, J. K. B. (1970). Seasonal biochemical composition and energy sources of Sagitta hispida. Mar. Biol. 6: 357–364
Ricker, W. E. (1973). Linear regressions in fishery research. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 30: 409–434
Sameoto, D. D. (1972). Yearly respiration rate and estimated energy budget for Sagitta elegans. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 29: 987–996
Skjoldal, H. R., Båmstedt, U., Klinken, J., Laing, A. (1984). Changes with time after capture in the metabolic activity of the carnivorous copepod Euchaeta norvegica Boeck. J. exp., mar. Biol. Ecol. 83: 195–210
Strickland, J. D. H., Parsons, T. R. (1972). A practical handbook of seawater analysis, 2nd ed. Bull. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 167: 1–310
Szyper, J. P. (1981). Short-term starvation effects on nitrogen and phosphorus excretion by the chaetognath Sagitta enflata. Estuar. cstl. Shelf Sci. 13: 691–700
Vinogradov, A. P. (1953). The elementary chemical composition of marine organisms, Sears Foundation for Marine Research, No. II, Yale University New Haven
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by M. Anraku, Tokyo
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ikeda, T., Kirkwood, R. Metabolism and elemental composition of a giant chaetognath Sagitta gazellae from the Southern Ocean. Marine Biology 100, 261–267 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391967
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391967