MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 37 



effects in the lobster of prolonged abstention from food in 

 captivity, by Professor B. Moore and George A. Herdman. 

 The main results may be summarised as follows : — 



1. It is, in our view, definitely settled by experiment, 

 that sea-water does not contain any appreciable amount 

 of organic matter capable of acting as a nutrient medium 

 for aquatic animals. 



2. We have also obtained, over longer periods, figures 

 indicating the rates of oxidation in larger marine animals, 

 and have definitely shown that the preponderating amount 

 of food consumed by such animals is utilised for increases 

 of the animal by growth and for sexual reproduction, and that 

 but a small fraction is oxidised for the metabolic needs of 

 the animal in other activities than growth and reproduction. 



3. Lobsters provided daily with a sufficient supply 

 of fresh sea-water can be kept alive without food during a 

 period of over seven months. 



4. The live body- weight of such lobsters does not diminish 

 during such a prolonged period of inanition. But while the 

 actual weight of inorganic matter remains constant, the total 

 dry weight and total organic weight are markedly diminished, 

 and as a result the percentage of inorganic matter in the dry 

 weight becomes increased. 



5. As a result of the inanition the total oxidisable organic 

 matter may fall to considerably less than one-half of the 

 initial amount. 



6. At the commencement of the period, protein, fat 

 and carbohydrate are oxidised almost equally; later the 

 carbohydrate becomes exhausted and, although fat is still 

 present, nearly all the oxidation falls upon the proteins. 



7. There is a satisfactory correspondence between the 

 amount of oxygen consumed by the animals throughout the 

 period and the amount of organic matter disappearing. The 

 oxygen consumed corresponds very closely to that required 



