Role of depleted initial energy reserves in early benthic phase mortality of six marine invertebrate species.

ABSTRACT: Insufficient energy reserves are widely considered to be a primary factor contributing to high rates of early benthic phase mortality among benthic marine invertebrates, but this hypothesis has been based mostly on indirect, observational evidence, and remains largely untested. We therefore examined the role of initial energy reserves in regulating survivorship and growth during the early benthic phase. Recently settled or hatched individuals of six invertebrate species were collected from natural populations, maintained without food, and their survivorship was monitored. Contrary to expectations, starved individuals of all six species had high survivorship through the critical first 10 days of the early benthic phase, with half of the species experiencing <2% mortality, and the remaining

SUBMITTER: Mendt SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8258192 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature