Chemical composition and oxygen consumption rates of the ctenophore Bolinopsis infundibulum from the Gulf of Maine

Quantitative determinations of chemical composition and oxygen consumption rates were made for a deep-living population of the lobate ctenophore Bolinopsis infundibulum. Animals were collected in the Gulf of Maine with the submersible ‘Johnson-Sea-Link’ during September 1989 at depths ranging from 120 to 240 m. Carbon and nitrogen contents were similar to values reported for epipelagic ctenophores. Lipid and protein levels were lower than values typical of epipelagic ctenophores, but higher than those of mesopelagic species. Carbohydrate was nearly an order of magnitude higher than previously recorded for B.infundibulum. Oxygen consumption rates ranged from 0.004 to 0.235 μl O2 mg−1 dry weight h− at temperatures ranging from 5 to 7°C. Carbon-specific metabolic rates ranged from 0.21 to 12.73 μl O2 mg−1 C h−1. Energy expenditures estimated from respiration data (∼3% body C day−1) indicated that up to 350 small copepods (e.g. Pseudocalanus sp.) or 23 larger copepods (e.g. Calanus finmarchicus) would be necessary to provide the daily maintenance ration required by a 92 mm B.infundibulum. These metabolic characteristics suggest that B.infundibulum could have a significant impact on prey populations in the Gulf of Maine.