Abstract

Oxygen consumption and ATP content are reported for the planktonic marine copepod Pontella mediterranea during normal and diapause embryonic development. In subitaneous embryos that hatched without delay within 48 h, O2 uptake increased linearly after spawning to reach maximum levels about 25 h later. By contrast, ATP levels were initially very high but decreased rapidly within the next 5 h to reach stable values thereafter. In diapause embryos, O2 consumption followed the typical U-shaped curve described for insect diapause. An initial period of prediapause, which lasted for about 25 days, was characterized by elevated O2 uptake. This was followed by a period of diapause in which O2 consumption dropped to 25% of the values recorded during prediapause. This protracted period of dormancy, which lasted about 4 to 5 months, was followed by a period of high O2 consumption possibly due to the breaking of diapause and resumption in development. ATP content during the pre-diapause period showed a similar trend as in subitaneous embryos with high initial levels that decreased with time for the first 20 days and remained stable afterwards.

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