Elemental contents of E. superba eggs (carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen) in the context of maternal parasite load (South Georgia, January 2018)

The quantities of key biologically active elements, carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen, were measured from batches of eggs from the Antarctic Krill, Euphausia superba. These krill were collected in the "Western Core Box" krill time series region, an area to the north-west of South Georgia, on the RRS James Clark Ross research cruise JR17002 in the summer (January) 2018. Eggs were collected from ship board incubation experiments. Maternal parasite assemblage and load was determined using DNA metabarcoding. Krill with higher loads of apicomplexa and ciliate parasites laid eggs with lower quantities of carbon and nitrogen. These lower quality eggs may have lower survival and recruitment success, suggesting a mechanism by which parasites may influence krill population dynamics.

Funding source: This research was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 887760 (ParaKrill).

本数据集针对南极磷虾（Antarctic Krill，*Euphausia superba*）的多批次卵样，测定了碳、氮、氢三种关键生物活性元素的含量。研究样本采集自南乔治亚岛西北侧的"西部核心箱"磷虾时间序列监测区域，采集于2018年夏季（1月）的RRS James Clark Ross号科考航次JR17002。卵样采集自船上孵化实验，研究采用DNA宏条形码技术（DNA metabarcoding）测定了雌性亲体的寄生虫群落组成与寄生负荷。结果显示，携带更高丰度顶复门（Apicomplexa）和纤毛虫（Ciliate）寄生虫的雌性磷虾所产卵的碳、氮元素含量更低。此类低品质卵的存活率与种群补充成功率或更低，这揭示了寄生虫可通过该机制影响磷虾种群动态。
资助说明：本研究获欧盟"地平线2020"研究与创新计划资助，依据玛丽·居里奖学金协议第887760号（ParaKrill）开展。