Lecithotrophs are capital breeders that engage in compensatory feeding (Jonsson, 1997). This means that they acquire the resources needed for reproduction before mating (Jonsson, 1998). The female stores the accumulated resources as fat tissue until she is ready to invest them in the production of offspring (Jonnson,1997).
Advantages of compensatory feeding (Jonnson, 1997):
* The number of offspring produced is predetermind by the amount of energy that has been stored. By providing her offspring with enough energy to reach partuition before fertilized, she reduces the risk of wasting her energy investment. The lecithotrophic mother can only produce offspring that she already has enough energy for.
*Lecithotrophic organisms can seperate feeding and breeding both geographically and temporally (example: Emperor penguins)
Disadvantages of compensatory (Jonnson, 1997):
* Food stores are extremely inefficient. Building and maintaining the tissue used for fat storage requires energy. Once the fat stores are developed the additional mass increases the amount of energy the organism needs to move. The Organism must also spend energy on pathways needed to convert metabolized food into energy stores and and energy store back into a usable form.
*The fat stores of lecithotrophs reduces the net gain of energy recieved from a given food source. |
