Table 8.—Hyas araneus losses in starved megalopa larvae. 

 For explanation of abbreviations see Table 1. 



Time (d): 



8 



12 



16 



20 



be expressed by the statistically significant 

 regression equation: %H 2 = 83 + 0.32 t (r = 

 0.959; P<10' 4 ), where t = time (days from 

 hatching). This effect was visible by eye: larvae, 

 which had starved for a long time, acquired an 

 increasingly bloated appearance like those ex- 

 posed to a hypotonic medium. 



DW tended to decrease during starvation, but 

 due mostly to high variation among parallel 

 determinations, only in the Z-l stage could a 

 statistically significant trend be found between 

 days 2 and 17 (Fig. 6): DW ( M g) = 82 - 0.85 t (r = 

 0.966; P<10" 5 ). 



The decreases in C, N, H, and J during t 

 followed an exponential pattern: In y = b + mt, 

 where y is any measure for biomass (C, N, H in 

 ng) or energy (J). To allow direct comparison, 

 fitted curves were again converted to percentage 

 values and shown in Figure 6 (only Z-l stage as 

 an example). For the other stages similar curves 

 were obtained (Table 9). The slope parameters 

 (= regression coefficients, m, in the log-trans- 

 formed equations) were not statistically signifi- 

 cantly different from each other. The 6 values 

 were very close to the logarithms of the initial 

 figures for biomass. 



In all three larval instars the energy content 

 (J/ind.) dropped more drastically than C, N, and 

 H contents (Table 9). In the Z-l there was also a 

 slightly stronger decline in N as compared with 

 C and H (Fig. 6). The maximal losses observed 

 shortly before starvation death of the larvae 



428 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 80, NO. 3 

 ? 4 6 S 10 12 14 16 



6 S 10 12 



Age (days) 



U 



16 



Figure 6.—Hyas araneus. Loss patterns [dry weight (DW), 

 energy content (J), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and hydrogen (H) 

 per individual] in starved Z-l larvae. Solid lines: fitted by 

 equations (see text); dotted curve: fitted by eye. 



Table 9.— Parameters of regression equations 

 for loss of individual biomass in starved larval 

 stages of Hyas araneus: In y = b+ mt; t = time (d). 

 For further explanation see Table 3. 



were ca. 36 to 46% in the Z-l, 45 to 58% in theZ-2, 

 and 43 to 51% in the megalopa. 



The average daily energy loss per individual 

 increased from the first to the last larval stage. If 

 converted to weight-specific figures, a weak 

 opposite trend became visible. This means that 

 increasing reserves became available during the 

 progress of development, and weight-specific 

 metabolism tended to decrease somewhat. 

 However, the above average values are only 

 rough estimates, since the loss patterns are 

 nonlinear (see above), but they do reflect general 

 differences among stages (Table 10). 



The decrease pattern in weight-specific energy 

 contents of starved larvae (within stages) 

 followed a hyperbola: In J/mg DW = b + m In (t + 

 1), where t = time (days), 6 is close to the 

 logarithm of the initial value, and m is the slope. 



