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varies depending on the vitellogenic pathway used by the species (Ramirez-Llodra,
2002).
Long-lived species with slow egg production have vitellogenic strategies that
are consistent with a continuous or predictable food supply and a relatively stable
environment, such as temperate latitude habitats, the Antarctic benthos and abyssal
plains (Clarke, 1979; Gage and Tyler, 1991; Eckelbarger, 1994; Eckelbarger and
Watling, 1995). In contrast, unstable environments or unpredictable food supply, such
as large food falls in the deep sea, boundaries between water masses and sites of
vigorous hydrodynamic activity, or ephemeral hydrothermal vents, would select for
opportunistic strategies with fast egg production capabilities (Eckelbarger, 1994).
Although the process of oogenesis in any species is phylogenetically constrained by
ovary morphology, 1) vitellogenic pathways inherent in a species, 2) the digestive
structures related to the transfer of nutrients from the somatic organs to the ovaries, 3)
fecundity and 4) the quality of offspring, are directly related to the nutritional state of
the adult and its resource allocation.
There have been a number of experiments and studies where it has been shown
that higher food availability or higher food quality enhances the production of more
and/or higher quality eggs. Similarly, a prolonged period of low food availability or
quality can reduce fecundity or even stop the production of eggs in species of
amphipods (Cruz-Riviera and Hay, 2000), copepods (Razouls et al., 1991; Jónasdóttir,
1994; Williams and Jones, 1999), caridean shrimps (Gorny et al., 1992, Ramirez-
Llodra, 2000), polychaetes (Levin and Creed, 1986; Zajaz, 1986; Levin et al., 1987;
Grémare et al., 1988; Quian and Chia, 1991, 1992, 1994; Levin and Bridges, 1994;
Prevedelli and Vandini, 1998, 1999; Linton and Taghan, 2000; Prevedelli and
Simonini, 2000), marine bivalves (Bayne and Worral, 1980; Kautsky, 1982; Bayne et
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