Relative energy accumulation in soma and gonad tissues of female Dosidicus gigas and relation to environmental effects

In order to understand the life history strategy of Dosidicus gigas in terms of energy accumulation, we applied the methodology tissue energy density technique and generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMM) to investigate the relative energy accumulation in soma and gonad tissues. The specimens of D. gigas were collected from the commercial jigging fisheries during 2017 and 2019. The results show that soma tissue was the largest organ for energy accumulation, accounting for at least 70% of the total energy of D. gigas, while gonad tissues accumulated a small portion of energy. The relative energy accumulation in soma tissue declined significantly from physiologically maturing stage to functionally mature stage, followed by a significant rebound at the spawning stage. In contrast, the relative energy accumulation in gonad tissues showed an increasing trend after the onset of physiologically maturing, reaching a peak at the stage of functionally mature. The relative energy accumulation in soma was not significantly correlated with sea surface temperature, neither was the relative energy accumulation in gonad tissues. However, there was a significant relationship between the relative energy accumulation in both soma and gonad tissues and sea surface chlorophyll-a concentration. There was also a significant relationship between the relative energy accumulation in soma and gonad tissues and sampling longitudes in the East Pacific Ocean. These observations indicate that D. gigas increases energy allocation to gonadal development after the onset of physiologically maturing, and maintains somatic condition during the spawning period. The relative energy accumulation in soma and gonad tissues may be more likely related to marine production, due to larger relative energy accumulation associated with higher chlorophyll-a concentration.