Metabolic responses to food and temperature in deep-sea isopods,Bathynomus doederleini

Abstract

Metabolic rate, the energy required per unit of time for an organism to sustain life, is influenced by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Despite the similarities among living organisms across the various domains of life, it has been observed that those adapted to deep-sea environments exhibit notable distinctions from those in shallower waters, even when accounting for size and temperature. However, as deep-sea organisms are infrequently kept in captivity for prolonged periods, investigations into their potential metabolic responses to food and temperature have yet to be conducted. In this study, we demonstrate the impact of food (specific dynamic action: SDA) and temperature (Q10) on the metabolic rate of the deep-sea isopod Bathynomus doederleini. Positive correlations were found between SDA parameters (peak, time to peak, duration, and factorial scope) and meal size in deep-sea organisms. The postprandial metabolic rate, at a meal size of 45.4%, increased by approximately 6.5-fold, and the duration was 20 days. Within the temperature range of their natural habitat, the overall Q10 was 2.36, indicating that a 10 °C increase would lead to a 2.4-fold increase in resting metabolic rate. The mean metabolic rate of this species, corrected for the equivalent temperature, was significantly 63% lower than the metabolic scaling rule for aquatic invertebrates. This low metabolic rate suggests that deep-sea isopods can survive for a year on a mere few grams of whale blubber at a water temperature of 10.5 °C. This information is crucial for understanding the metabolic strategies and consequences of adaptation to a deep-sea environment.