Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 12, 2025
07:20
Design and Use of an Apparatus for Quantifying Bivalve Suspension Feeding at Sea
Published on: September 5, 2018
7.9K
Inferring functional traits in a deep-sea wood-boring bivalve using dynamic energy budget theory
S M Gaudron1,2, S Lefebvre3, G M Marques4
1UMR 8187, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG), Université de Lille, ULCO, CNRS, 59000, Lille, France. sylvie.gaudron@sorbonne-universite.fr.
Scientific Reports
|November 23, 2021
Summary
Dynamic energy budget (DEB) modeling reveals functional traits of the deep-sea Atlantic woodeater, Xylonora atlantica. This study highlights unique adaptations to deep-sea conditions, including altered energy allocation and extended larval duration.
Area of Science:
- Deep-sea biology
- Ecological modeling
- Life-history evolution
Background:
- Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding deep-sea species' functional traits across their life cycles.
- Dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory offers an efficient framework for estimating life-cycle functional traits via simulation modeling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement an abj-DEB model for the deep-sea species Xylonora atlantica.
- To estimate functional traits of X. atlantica under varying environmental conditions.
- To understand life-history adaptations of deep-sea organisms.
Main Methods:
- An abj-DEB model, incorporating an additional juvenile stage, was developed and applied to Xylonora atlantica.
- Model parameters were compared with those of shallow marine bivalves.
- Functional traits were simulated under different food densities and temperatures.
Main Results:
- X. atlantica exhibits lower energy conductance and puberty requirements than shallow bivalves, with higher reserve capacity.
- Simulated traits include a low cumulative oocyte number, slow growth, small maximum size, and extended larval duration.
- DEB modeling explained dwarf male reproduction through shifted energy allocation favoring reproduction.
Conclusions:
- DEB modeling provides insights into deep-sea species' functional traits and life-history strategies.
- X. atlantica displays adaptations for survival in deep-sea environments, including starvation tolerance and specific reproductive strategies.
- Estimated functional traits are valuable for future deep-sea population connectivity and resilience studies.
Related Concept Videos
00:51Energy Budgets
9.8K
Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...
9.8K
00:46Trophic Efficiency
22.4K
Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
22.4K
00:48Optimal Foraging
12.6K
How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
12.6K
01:25Metabolic Rate
716
The human body is a powerhouse of energy, with every cell performing numerous functions that require energy. This energy production and consumption is measured by the metabolic rate, which quantifies the total heat generated by all the body's chemical reactions and mechanical work. This measurement helps to determine the rate of kilocalorie (kcal) consumption needed to fuel all ongoing activities.
The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) measures the energy expended at rest.
Several factors influence...
The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) measures the energy expended at rest.
Several factors influence...
716
01:06Primary Production
24.2K
The total amount of energy acquired by primary producers in an ecosystem is called gross primary production (GPP). However, of this energy, producers use some for metabolic processes, and some is lost as heat, decreasing the amount of energy available to the next trophic level. The remaining usable amount of energy is called the net primary productivity (NPP). In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP is driven by climate, while light penetration and nutrient availability drive NPP in aquatic ecosystems.
24.2K
01:01Production Efficiency
17.2K
Net production efficiency (NPE) is the efficiency at which organisms assimilate energy into biomass for the next trophic level. Due to low metabolic rates and less energy spent on thermoregulatory processes, the NPE of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) is 10 times higher than endotherms (warm-blooded animals).
17.2K