Temporal variation in protein, carbohydrate, and lipid concentrations in Paramuricea clavata (Anthozoa, Octocorallia): evidence for summer–autumn feeding constraints

Abstract

Temporal variations in protein, carbohydrate, and lipid levels were studied in a passive suspension feeder, the gorgonian Paramuricea clavata. The samples were collected every month for mature and immature colonies over a three-year period (1997–2000). The relationship between biochemical composition and reproductive output was examined on the basis of the 1998 and 1999 data. In female and male P. clavata colonies, the tissue displayed differences in lipid concentrations only in winter–spring, due to the high lipid levels attained by female colonies in this period. Immature colonies showed significant differences in lipid concentration only with respect to mature females in spring. There were clear seasonal trends in the lipid and carbohydrate levels in P. clavata, with maximum values in winter–spring [male lipid 212±75 SD μg mg−1 of organic matter (OM) and female lipid 274±103 SD μg mg−1 of OM; male and female carbohydrate 68±14 SD μg mg−1 of OM], coinciding with maximum food concentration/quality, and minimum values in summer–autumn (male and female lipid 155±57 SD μg mg−1 of OM; male and female carbohydrate 56±14 SD μg mg−1 of OM), coinciding with low food concentration/quality. The relationship between reproductive output and tissue concentrations of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins was not straightforward, although there was an evident overlap of the lipid accumulation and the gonadal development. The results of this study show that protein, carbohydrate, and lipid levels may provide a record of episodes in the ecological cycle bearing on the trophic aspects of the target species. The results indicate that information on seasonal biochemical levels may explain benthopelagic coupling processes, provided factors such as natural diet, feeding rates, reproduction, and growth are well understood.