Oxygen uptake in developing eggs and larvae of the cod, Gadus morhua L.

• Published in: Journal of Fish Biology
• Main Authors: Davenport, J., Lönning, S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1980
• Subjects: Gadus morhua
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1980.tb03702.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1095-8649.1980.tb03702.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1980.tb03702.x

Unfertilised cod eggs showed a mean oxygen uptake rate at 5°C of 0.089 μl O 2 , dry wt. −1 h −1 this gradually rose to 0.768 μl O 2 mg dry wt. −1 h −1 in eggs about to hatch. From hatching to complete yolk absorption larvae respired at 1.6 μl O 2 , mg dry wt. −1 h −1 . During starvation following yolk absorption, uptake fell significantly to 1.1 μl O 2 , mg dry −1 h −1 . Much of this decrease in oxygen consumption was shown to be caused by reduction in activity. Loss of weight during the embryo and larval phases could not easily be reconciled with total oxygen consumption; it is suggested that cod embryos and larvae may not rely solely upon endogenous energy reserves during development.