Loss of meal antigenicity during digestion in Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda: Sepioidea)

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Kear, Amanda J., Boyle, Peter R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1992
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Euphausia superba
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400059336; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400059336

Some of the limits to the use of serology to identify prey species in the digestive tracts of cephalopods have been evaluated. Cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis , were given meals of krill slurry (Euphausia superba). Protein extracts of contents from four regions of the digestive tract, stomach, caecum, digestive gland and intestine, were tested for prey antigenicity. Digestion times (loss of antigenicity) ranged from 1 to 8 h depending on sampling site. Stomach and caecum emptied rapidly, but meal antigenicity persisted longer in the digestive gland. The Sepia experiments provide a basis for interpretation of results from natural predation by cephalopods).