Ampelisca eschrichtii Kroyer, 1842 (Ampeliscidae) of the Sakhalin Shelf in the Okhotsk Sea starve in summer and feast in winter.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ampelisca eschrichtii Krøyer, 1842 of the Sakhalin Shelf of the Okhotsk Sea, Far Eastern Russia, comprise the highest known biomass concentration of any amphipod population in the world and are a critically important prey source for western gray whales. Growth and reproduction in this population has not been apparent in summer. However, they are not accessible for sampling in winter to test a previous default conclusion that they grow and reproduce in winter.

Methods

We tested the default winter growth and reproduction hypothesis by detailed comparisons of the brood and gonad development among 40 females and 14 males and brood sizes among females observed since 2002. Our test included six predictions of reproductive synchrony that would be apparent from gon

SUBMITTER: Durkina VB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6016533 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature