Oxygen consumption and temperature change in the shrimp Palaemon elegans

Abstract

Oxygen consumption responses to short-term temperature changes were measured in a Mediterranean population of the shrimp Palaemon elegans (Rathke), At all temperatures between 5 and 25 °C small shrimp with a body weight of 150 mg showed higher rates of oxygen consumption than larger shrimp. Handling affects metabolic rate; the latter stabilizes only after more than 10 h, especially in small shrimp. Q10-values decrease with decreasing shrimp weight and with rising temperature. Compared to a cold-acclimated population of the same species (Alcaraz 1974) metabolic rates at 15 and 20 °C are lower in the warm-acclimated Mediterranean population used in this investigation. © Inter-Research.