| Abstract: | Effect of Diet on the Elementary Chemical Composition of Nebalia bipes (Crustacea, Leptostraca) Changes in carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen contents of Nebalia bipes were studied under different artificial feeding conditions. Using a multifactor ANOVA, highly significant variations were observed according to diet. C:N ratio, which was 4.99 ± 0.31 in control animals, exhibited extreme values of 3.96 ± 0.09 and 5.52 ± 0.49. From a trophic point of view, the results demonstrate the large possibilities of N. bipes to exploit very different resources. The variability of its elementary chemical composition expressed in C:N ratio is compared to other generalist species. |
