The effect of food deprivation on seasonal changes in the metabolic rate of the limpet, Cellana tramoserica

Abstract

Abstract 1. 1. The metabolic rates of the intertidal limpet Cellana tramoserica were compared when limpets were caged at high densities in the field and when they were left uncaged at natural densities. 2. 2. Food deprivation caused by caging had different effects on metabolism in different seasons. 3. 3. During winter, severe food deprivation caused somatic growth to cease and eliminated the “elevated” metabolism (i.e. “temperature acclimatization”) usually found in this season. 4. 4. During spring, caging did not cause a reduction in metabolism apparently because the rate of gonad synthesis did not decrease when limpets were deprived of food. 5. 5. These results provide further support for a metabolic model which suggests that seasonal changes in oxygen consumption are due to changes in the rate of biosynthesis rather than to “temperature acclimation”.