The oxygen uptake of ovigerous edible crabs (Cancer pagurus)(L.) and their eggs

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Abstract
Oxygen uptake rates (MO2) in settled Cancer pagurus ranged from 7.5±1.3 to 13.2+1.4 μmol O2 kg‐1 min‐1 in non‐ovigerous females and from 9.4+1.7 to 18.5±4.6 μmol O2 kg‐1 min‐1 in ovigerous females. The higher rates of uptake in ovigerous females were attributed to MO2 of the egg mass, which contained eggs at stage 3–4 of development and was dependent on degree of agitation, with MO2 for unstirred eggs at 62.9±10.9 μmol O2 kg‐1 min‐1 and stirred eggs at 261.4±72 μmol O2 kg‐1 min‐1. Estimates of the MO2 of ovigerous females minus their eggs indicated a decrease in oxygen uptake of adult crabs during brooding. Ovigerous female crabs show a bimodal, crepuscular rhythm of diurnal variation in MO2 while non‐ovigerous females show a unimodal rhythm. These data support the observation that ovigerous females in the wild are generally less active, may not feed and are not often captured in baited traps.