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Energetics of Pacific Herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) Embryos and Larvae Exposed to Low Conentrations of Benzene, a Monoaromatic Component of Crude Oil
Author(s) -
Eldridge Maxwell B.,
Echeverria Tina,
Whipple Jeannette A.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1977)106<452:eophch>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - pacific herring , herring , biology , hatching , yolk sac , yolk , zoology , energetics , embryo , clupea , larva , botany , fishery , ecology , fish <actinopterygii>
Interest in the energetic processes of critical early life stages of Pacific herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) and the potential effects from sublethal exposure to benzene, a monoaromatic component of crude oil, led to a series of experiments which examined metabolism of herring embryos, yolk‐sac larvae, and post‐yolk‐sac larvae. Yolk caloric content was 6,020 cal/g or 1.3 calories per egg. This energy was consumed rapidly during incubation; total yolk absorption occurred 12 days after fertilization. Anabolic rates varied but at no time was there an energy deficit. Oxygen consumption of embryos increased prior to hatching, then a 10‐fold rise was seen in newly hatched yolk‐sac larvae. Exogenous calories were estimated from ingested rotifers and were less definable than endogenous energy due to variable grazing rates. Sublethal concentrations of benzene caused (a) significantly less embryonic tissue growth, (b) significantly different oxygen consumption in embryos, and (c) significantly greater assimilation in feeding larvae. It is believed activity of larvae played an important role in accounting for increased metabolism of later stages.