The effect of hydrostatic pressure on respiratory electron transport system activity in marine zooplankton

Abstract

The pressure dependence of the respiratory electron transport system (ETS) activity was investigated in four species of zooplankton from Puget Sound and in mixed populations of zooplankton from the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. The Puget Sound zooplankton showed no significant pressure effect between 1 and 100 atm, the maximum range of pressure these organisms are likely to encounter in nature. The mixed zooplankton, from both epipelagic and bathypelagic waters, showed no significant pressure effect at 265 atm.