Sixty female Antarctic krill (Euphausia superbaDana) spawned in shipboard experiments and the interval between egg-laying and ecdysis was noted. The number of eggs laid per female ranged from 263–3662, most females produced only one batch of eggs before moulting, and the post-spawn ovaries of all females contained few, if any, mature oocytes. As reported in other studies, the total number of eggs produced per female was not well correlated with body size. Females appeared to spawn at all times during the moulting cycle and although no diurnal rhythm in spawning was observed, moulting occurred mainly at night-time despite the animals being kept in near-constant darkness. No evidence of synchronous moutling was detecte
展开▼
