Table 13. Caloric equivalents (Kcal/mg wet weight) of the component 

 plankton corrnunities of the tropical Pacific. 



Group of organisms Dimensions, mm 



1974); however, studies of recent years (Kuz'micheva, Kukina, 1974; 

 Klyashtorin, Kuz'micheva, 1975; Musaeva, Vitek, 1975) have indicated 

 that the values of rate of oxygen consumption obtained in closed 

 bottles, are only slightly lower and are quite suitable for approximate 

 estimates of production using the physiologic method. As concerns the 

 influence of feeding conditions on this parameter, individual 

 observations have shown that the metabolic rate does not actually depend 

 on the concentration of food (Shushkina, 1966; Shushkina, Klekovskiy, 

 1968; Kryuchkova, 1972). 



Some results of measurement of metabolic rate R as a function of 

 body weight Wg, cal , for planktonic animals in the tropical water of the 

 Pacific Ocean are presented in Figure 25. A comparison of the values of 

 metabolism for copepoda in the oligotrophic regions of the Pacific at 

 30°C (Shushkina, Pavlova, 1973) with metabolism measured in the regions 

 of the equatorial upwelling at 20-22°C (Musaeva, Vitek, 1975) showed 

 that there was no significant difference (Fig. 26). If the regression 

 line of metabolism R to weight W at 30°C is adjusted to 20°C, using the 

 temperature correction suggested by L. M. Shushchenya (1969), the 



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