Sexual differences in food intake, digestive tract size, and growth performance of the dab, Limanda limanda L.
Lozán, J.L. (1992). Sexual differences in food intake, digestive tract size, and growth performance of the dab, Limanda limanda L. Neth. J. Sea Res. 29(1-3): 223-227
In: Netherlands Journal of Sea Research. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ): Groningen; Den Burg. ISSN 0077-7579; e-ISSN 1873-1406, meer
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| Abstract |
Sexual dimorphism in food intake, size of the digestive tract, hepatosomatic index and respiration were studied in dab from the southeastern North Sea both in the field and the laboratory, in order to explain observed differences in growth. The results show that the food intake of females is significantly greater than that of males. In a tank experiment 20-cm-long females consumed 73% more food than similar-sized males. Studies of deep-frozen samples caught during the main feeding period in August revealed that females contained 1.5 times as much food as males. Females appeared to have a significantly larger digestive tract than males determined on a dry-weight basis. During autumn and winter, females had heavier livers than males. No significant differences were found in the oxygen consumption rate. |
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