Ref ID : 1757
Z. Klekowski, Fritz Schiemer, and Annie Duncan; Bioenergetic study of a benthic nematode, Plectus palustris de Man 1880, throughout its life cycle; The respiratory metabolism at different densities of bacterial food. Oecologia (Berlin) 44:119-124, 1979
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Respiration rates of the bacterivorous freshwater nematode Plectus palustris were measured during the whole life cycle for the species and for animals grown at two food densities. Covalience analysis showed that small, but significant differences exist of the elevation of the respiration rate - body weight regressions R=aWb, in nlO2/ind.hr and µg weight) for different food densities. At a food density of 6-9x10E8 bacterial cells/ml the level respiration is 14% lower compared to rates of animals cultured ten times higher food density. However, the allometric function R=aWb, adequately describes the relationship of respiration body weight only during the larval growth phase and for living females, while respiration rates of newly hatched larvae mature females at maximal egg production have lower metabolic rates. Cumulated metabolic costs to attain a certain age, and stage of development have been determined and are used subsequent paper (Schemer et al, 1979) to calculate the energy budgets of the species.