Egg size and composition in Ceratoserolis (Crustacea: Isopoda) from the Weddell Sea

Samples of ovigerous female Ceratoserolis trilobitoides carrying newly spawned (stage A1) eggs in the marsupium were obtained from Borge Bay, Signy Island (South Orkney Islands), the continental shelf near Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands), and two sites in the inner Weddell Sea. The dry mass of a newly spawned egg was greater at the inner Weddell Sea sites even when the larger size of the females from the Weddell Sea and the positive relationship between egg size and female size were taken into account. Larger eggs contained more yolk, and there was a slight but significant tendency for larger eggs to have a lower percentage nitrogen content. Eggs from Ceratoserolis meridionalis were smaller in size than sympatric Ceratoserolis trilobitoides, but of similar composition. The reason for a greater investment per egg by females at higher latitudes is not clear, but it may be related to a slightly longer development period, itself associated with the lower water temperatures in the inner Weddell Sea. Data presented here were collected during the European Polarstern Study (EPOS) sponsored by the European Science Foundation