Influence of algal and suspended sediment concentrations on the feeding physiology of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria

Short-term laboratory feeding experiments were conducted to determine the response of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) (32 mm in mean shell length) to increasing sediment concentrations. Clams were fed mixed suspensions of Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa (50 and 150 cells l^-1) and bottom sediments (0 to 44 mg l^-1). Algal ingestion rate deelined with increasing sediment loads. This resulted primarily from a reduction in clearance rate, which declined by 0.08 l h^-1 g^-1 (1.3%) for every 1 mg l^-1 increase in sediment load. This reduction was of similar magnitude for juvenile (13 mm) clams. At the algal concentrations tested, pseudofaeces production was intermittent and inconspicuous below about 10 mg silt l^-1. Loss of algae in pseudofaeces increased with increasing sediment loads; however, even at the highest silt and algal concentrations, clams lost a maximum of only 18% of the algae cleared from suspension. Thus, pseudofaeces production is not expected to cause significant loss of algal food at the sediment concentrations normally encountered in the natural environment ( ca 40 mg silt l^-1). Absorption rate of total organic matter remained constant, at least up to silt concentrations of 20 mg l^-1. Experiments using dual ⁵¹Cr:¹⁴C-formaldehyde-labelled sediment indicated that clams were able to counteract the dilution of algae by absorbing a considerable fraction (21 to 22%) of detrital sedimentary organics. Absorption efficiency of pure P. paradoxa ranged from 82% at 50 cells l^-1 to 58% at 150 cells l^-1. Integration of physiological rate measurements suggests that at moderate to high algal concentrations (300 g Cl^-1), growth improvement by the addition of silt, documented in mussels, surf clams and oysters, is unlikely to occur in M. mercenaria. It is suggested that a suspension-feeding bivalve's success in maximizing its energy gain in a turbid environment depends on the combination of two features: a high selection efficiency and a high rate of pseudofaeces production. It is proposed that species which regulate ingestion primarily by producing pseudofaeces are better adapted to cope with high suspended sediment loads than species such as M. mercenaria, which control ingestion mainly by reducing clearance rate.Contribution No. 451 from the Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA     

An improved automatic recording apparatus for determining the filtration rate of Mytilus edulis as a function of size and algal concentration

An automatic recording apparatus for measuring the filtration rate in suspension-feeding bivalves is described. The concentration of algae in the experimental medium is kept constant throughout each experiment by addition of Phaeodactylum tricornutum from a chemostat. Within the range of body size 5.7 to 283 mg (W=dry weight of tissues), the filtration rate (F=ml min^-1) at 15°C in Mytilus edulis L. follows the allometric equation F=0.85 W ^0.72. Within the concentrations 0.18 to 0.70 mg algal dry weight l^-1, the filtration rate in mussels of 132 mg dry flesh weight ranges from 33.1 to 41.0 ml min^-1. At 0.18 mg algal dry weight l^-1 the mussels filter continuously for 20 h, with a high constant rate that presumably represents the water transport capacity under optimal laboratory conditions.     

Mortality and growth of juvenile hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria during brown tide

Blooms of the picoplankton-sized alga Aureococcus anophagefferens Hargraves et Sieburth, also known as "brown tide," frequently recur in Great South Bay, New York, USA. A field study compared mortality and growth rates of juvenile hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria (L.), raised at a site that experienced a bloom of A. anophagefferens (>1᎒⁶ cells ml^-1) to clams grown in a nonbloom site from May to September 2000 at two sites on the north and south shores of Long Island. High (67%) cumulative clam mortality was observed for clams raised at the brown tide site (south shore) during the bloom (June-July), and individuals exhibited no measurable growth during that period. After the bloom subsided (mid-July), clams that survived the brown tide suffered low (<5%) cumulative mortality over the remaining sampling period (July-September). These survivors exhibited rapid growth for 4 weeks shortly after the bloom's decline. Subsequently, their growth slowed to rates comparable with those observed at the nonbloom site (north shore). By contrast, a low (<5%) cumulative mortality was observed for M. mercenaria raised at the site with no brown tide, and positive growth occurred throughout the study. These data suggest that some juvenile clams not only survive brown tide but also recover following the bloom.     

Food concentration and stocking density effects on survival and growth of laboratory-reared larvae of bay anchovy Anchoa mitchilli and lined sole Achirus lineatus

Bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) eggs were stocked at densities from 0.5 to 32.0 l^-1 and larvae were fed on wild plankton (copepod nauplii) in concentrations that ranged from 50 to 5000 prey l^-1. Lined sole (Achirus lineatus) eggs were stocked at 0.5 to 16.0 l^-1 and larvae were fed wild plankton at concentrations from 50 to 1000 prey l^-1. Some larvae of each species survived at all stock and food levels to the transformation stage at 16 days after hatching. Survival rates for both species exceeded 40% when food concentration was 1000 l^-1 or higher. Growth and dry weight yields also increased significantly at the higher food concentrations. Effects of initial stocking density were not well defined, but both survival and growth decreased at the highest stocking rates. Standardized culture of bay anchovy and lined sole larvae can be based on a food concentration of 1000 copepod nauplii l^-1 to routinely produce healthy larvae.     

Sublethal effects of chronic oil exposure on the intertidal clam Macoma balthica

When exposed to Prudhoe Bay crude oil in flowing seawater for 180 days, the small intertidal clam Macoma balthica showed behavioral, physical, physiological and biochemical changes. At a high concentration of oil in seawater (3.0 mg l^-1) burrowing rate decreased, respiration rate increased, growth was inhibited, and very high mortalities resulted. The lowest concentration of oil in seawater (0.03 mg l^-1) inhibited growth and caused reabsorption of gametes. One group of adverse oil effects which was related to sluggishness and disorientation of the clams appeared after a week of exposure to oil; another group related to a negative energy balance was not observed until 60 days. We conclude that chronic exposure of M. balthica to oil-in-seawater concentrations even as low as 0.03 mg l^-1 will, in time, lead to population decreases.Please address requests for reprints to Dr. D. G. Shaw at the Institute of Marine Science     

Effect of suspended bottom material on growth and energetics in Mytilus edulis

The influence of suspended, natural silt (0 to 20 mg l^-1) in addition to unicellular algal cells (Phaeodactylum tricornutum) (o to 20.000 cells ml^-1) on clearance, growth and energetics in Mytilus edulis has been studied. Clearance increased by 32 to 43% by the addition of 5 mg silt l^-1 as compared to clearance in a pure algal suspension. Ingestion and growth rate increased with algal concentration, and growth rate was further increased by 30 to 70% by the addition of 5 mg silt l^-1. A growth rate comparable to maximum natural growth rates was reached only at the highest algal concentration in the presence of 5 mg siltl^-1. Assimilation efficiency of P. tricornutum decreased from 77% at 5,000 cells ml^-1 to 52% at 20,000 cells ml^-1. In the experiments with silt added, some 20 to 30% of the assimilated organic matter originated from the suspended bottom material. Net growth efficiency increased with growth rate at a decelerating rate, approaching a maximum of about 70%. It is concluded that suspended bottom material, which is always present in M. edulis' natural habitats, serves as an additional food source, and that M. edulis depends on suspended bottom material to exploit fully its clearance potential, and to reach the maximum growth rates observed in nature.     

Differential effects of Aureococcus anophagefferens isolates ("brown tide") in unialgal and mixed suspensions on bivalve feeding

Picoplanktonic brown tides of Aureococcus anophagefferens have had devastating effects on production of commercially exploited bivalve populations in shallow, mid-Atlantic estuaries in the United States. The toxin produced by this alga has not been chemically characterized. This study develops a bioassay using juvenile mussels, Mytilus edulis, based on the inhibitory effect of brown tide on bivalve suspension-feeding, to compare the cellular toxicity of three Long Island, New York, clonal isolates of A. anophagefferens. Two recent (1995) isolates (CCMP 1707 and 1708) from Peconic Bay proved highly toxic and caused greater than 100-fold reduction in clearance rates (CR) of juvenile mussels in unialgal and mixed suspensions with a nutritious alga, Isochrysis galbana (clone T-iso), relative to controls. A third 1986 isolate from Great South Bay (CCMP 1784) showed no detectable toxicity in 24-h trials, and may have lost its initial potency over more than a decade of laboratory culture. Identification of a non-toxic strain provides a useful tool for future research. Cultures of the toxic isolate CCMP 1708 in late-stationary growth phase were significantly more toxic than those in early-exponential phase. The threshold concentration of toxic A. anophagefferens cells that inhibits clearance on co-occurring phytoplankton species was determined for juvenile (10-mm) hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria. Relatively low concentrations (⣃᎒³ to 50᎒³ cells ml^-1) of isolate CCMP 1708 were sufficient to sharply reduce clam CR of I. galbana. Calculations based on these results suggest that, at peak historical densities of M. mercenaria in Great South Bay, removal of A. anophagefferens at low cell densities by suspension-feeding benthos could provide an effective top-down grazing control mechanism to prevent the initiation of brown tide in shallow, inner bays.     

The persistence of chronically accumulated hydrocarbons in the hard shell clam Mercenaria mercenaria

Hard shell clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, from the chronically polluted environment of the Providence River, USA, were transferred to a clean laboratory system located in lower Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The hydrocarbon contents of these transplanted clams were monitored for 120 days after transfer. After this period only slight depuration had occurred. A 41.9 g g wet weight^-1 average initial hydrocarbon burden decreased to 29.3 g g^-1, a decrease that became statistically significant (P<0.1) only after 120 days. At most, only 30% of the clams' hydrocarbons were lost. These findings indicate that the duration of the exposure period and the chemical nature of the source hydrocarbons are both instrumental in determining the persistence of these compounds in filter-feeding bivalves. Chronically accumulated petroleum hydrocarbons are strongly retained by the organisms and are only very slowly depurated.     

Release of dissolved organic carbon from the estuarine intertidal macroalga Enteromorpha prolifera

The estuarine macroalga Enteromorpha prolifera was collected from Coos Bay, Oregon, USA during 1981, and its release of photosynthate as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was studied using ¹⁴C as a tracer. During photosynthesis in 30 S sea water, with a fixation rate averaging 7.37 mg C g^-1 dry wt h^-1, release ranged from 0.13 to 0.57 mg C g^-1 dry wt h^-1 and from 1.65 to 6.23% of total fixed carbon. Release of DOC appears to be linear with time over 3 h. As exposed algae become increasingly desiccated, their photosynthetic rates decline dramatically, but upon reimmersion the highly desiccated algae lose a larger fraction of their fixed carbon than the slightly desiccated algae. This loss comes in a pulse release of DOC over the initial 15 min, followed by declining release rates. The pulse loss due to rainfall is 5 times greater than that due to tidal resubmergence, and may briefly exceed the prior photosynthetic rate. Although lowering the salinity from 30 to 5 does not substantially alter photosynthetic rates, it does increase the DOC release range up to 1.02 mg C g^-1 dry wt h^-1 and 16.10% of fixed carbon. Heterotrophic microbes from the algal habitat readily use the available DOC at about 15% h^-1.     

Behavior and growth ofMercenaria mercenaria during simulated storm events

Experiments were conducted in April–August 1989 on juvenileMercenaria mercenaria (L.) in an oscillatory water tunnel to simulate resuspension of bottom sediments by waves and to determine the effects of shortterm storm events on particle ingestion, pseudofeces production, and shell growth. Juveniles (mean length = 19.2 mm) were subjected to identical concentrations of algae in both low-flow, gentle waves (maximum velocity = 7 cm s^–1) and high-velocity storm waves (maximum velocity = 22 cm s^–1). Suspended sediment levels reached 193 mg 1^–1 at 1 cm above the bed during storms. Shell growth decreased by a maximum of 38% during the storm when levels of phytoplankton were high (average cell concentration = 43 × 10⁶ cells 1^–1), and by 18% when phytoplankton levels were low (av cell conc = 6 × 10⁶ cells 1^–1). Orientation of clam siphons was not related to flow direction. Significantly more pseudofeces were produced when the clams were subjected to increased sediment resuspension under waves, and in troughs of sand ripples. The size of sediment grains ingested did not vary significantly among the flow treatments. The decrease in shell growth during storms may be due to a reduction in filtration rate coupled with a decrease in net energy gained from filtration due to costs of pseudofeces production. The magnitude of the decrease seems to be related to concentration of algae, water temperature, age of clams and sediment transport mode (bed load or suspended load). Thus, the interpretation of growth increments must be made in the context of these environmental variables.     

Genetics and shell morphology in a hybrid zone between the hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria and M. campechiensis

Populations of Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) from South Carolina, USA, and M. campechiensis (Gmelin) from the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, USA, were sampled in 1987. The two species differed at all of seven enzyme loci tested, as well as in the thickness of shell ridges and nacre color. The difference in lunule shape was not great, although differences in relative shell width, shell weight, and lunule size make morphometric discrimination between the species possible. Shell ridges, nacre color, and multivariate morphometrics in a sample of clams collected from the Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic coast of Florida in 1985 do not assort independently. Individuals with thick ridges, white nacre, and/or campechiensis-like morphometrics have significantly different allele frequencies at most enzyme loci from individuals with thin ridges, purple nacre, and/or mercenaria-like morphometrics. The deviations are in the direction predicted from the analysis of the allopatric populations of M. mercenaria and M. campechiensis. M. mercenaria outnumber M. campechiensis in the Indian River sample, but the majority of the clams seem to be hybrids.Contribution No. 235 from South Carolina Marine Resources Center     

Photosynthesis and respiration of exposed salt-marsh fucoids

Photosynthesis and respiration of the salt-marsh fucoids Ascophyllum nodosum ecad scorpioides and Fucus vesiculosus were investigated using an infrared CO₂ gas analyzer under a variety of light intensities, temperatures, and levels of desiccation while the algae were exposed to the atmosphere. Results indicated that net photosynthesis (0.5 to 2.0 mg C/g dry weight/h) saturated rapidly at light intensities (0.1 to 0.2 g cal/cm²/min) which were approximately 10 to 50% of the daily summer maximum intensities for algae found under phanerogam (Spartina alterniflora) canopies. Desiccation exhibited the most pronounced effect on photosynthesis, which increases slightly between 0 and 25% water loss, levels off, and decreases sharply at water losses greater than 50%. Dark respiration (0.1 to 0.3 mg C/g dry weight/h) is also inhibited by desiccation. Both species of algae appear to be broadly adapted to all three parameters investigated.This research was supported by research grants AG-375 and BO 38018 from the National Science Foundation and, in part, by the State University of New York Research Foundation and the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA).Communicated by M.R. Tripp, Newark     

Relationships between seston,available food and feeding activity in the common mussel Mytilus edulis

The feeding and metabolic rates of Mytilus edulis L. of different body sizes were measured in response to changes in particle concentrations ranging from 2 to 350 mg l^-1. Rates of oxygen consumption were not significantly affected by changes in seston concentration, whereas clearance rates gradually declined with increasing particle concentration. Pseudofaeces production was initiated at relatively low seston concentrations (<5 mg l^-1). Marked seasonal changes were recorded in the composition of suspended particulates (seston) in an estuary in south-west England. Total seston was sampled at frequent intervals throughout an annual cycle and analysed in terms of: particle size-frequency distributions, total dry weight (mg l^-1), inorganic content, chlorophyll a, carbohydrate, protein and lipid. The particulate carbohydrate, protein and lipid content provided an estimate of the food content of the seston. The results are discussed in terms of the food available to a nonselective suspension feeder, such as M. edulis, during a seasonal cycle. The effect of inorganic silt in suspension was mainly to limit by dilution the amount of food material ingested rather than to reduce the amount of material filtered by the mussel. In winter, the food content of the material ingested was 5%, and this increased to 25% during the spring and summer.     

Effect of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria on benthic fluxes of inorganic nutrients and gases

The effect of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria (L.) on the exchange of dissolved nutrients (silicate, phosphate, ammonium, nitrate+nitrite) and gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide) across the sediment-water interface was examined in 1983 and 1984 using experimental mesocosms (13 m³), designed to simulate a shallow coastal ecosystem, that allow for reciprocal biogeochemical interactions between water column (5 m) and bottom sediments (30 cm deep). Benthic, fluxes, measured during a spring-summer warming period, were compared for mesocosms maintained either with added M. mercenaria (16 per m², treatment) or without M. mercenaria (control) as a component of the benthic community. Fluxes were within the range observed for the (control) community in situ in mid-Narragansett Bay and exhibited the pattern of increasing flux with increasing temperature observed in nature. For dissolved inorganic (DIN=ammonia+nitrate+nitrite), analytical problems allowed comparison of fluxes only at the higher temperatures (17° to 22°C); average DIN fluxes were 57% higher in mesocosms with clams. Fluxes of other nutrients and gases were modelled as exponential functions of temperature (9° to 22°C) using a linear regression of the natural logarithm of flux upon temperature in both treatment and control situations. Differences between regression slopes and intercepts for conditions with and without clams were assessed by analysis of covariance. Slopes of the linearized temperature-flux relationships were not significantly different between treatments for any flux measured, suggesting that presence of the clams did not alter the basic relationship of flux and temperature normally observed with this community. For oxygen consumption and silicate production, the regression intercepts were significantly higher in the clam treatment, suggesting that the level of flux was generally elevated in the presence of M. mercenaria by about 20% (oxygen) and 86% (silicate) at any given temperature. Data for carbon dioxide and phosphate showed similar trends to oxygen and silicate, but the variance in fluxes was larger and regression intercepts for the two treatments were not significantly different.     

Production of the euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis in Storm Bay,south-eastern Tasmania

The euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis Sars is an important food item for a wide range of seabirds and commercially exploited fish in coastal waters of south-eastern Tasmania. During most of the year, N. australis forms the major component of the zooplankton biomass in Storm Bay, particularly during the summer months when it swarms in dense aggregations. Production was calculated using methods devised for individuals with continuous recruitment. Estimates of production, integrated for the whole of Storm Bay (approx 18.5km³) were from 78.3 to 84.8 mg m^-3 yr¹. The P:B ratio obtained for the period December 1979 to March 1981 was about 14. The production of exuviae was also calculated based on certain assumptions about moulting rate and dry weight of the moult, supported by some experimental data. The production of exuviae was 41.03 mgm^-3yr^-1 or 7.6 times the mean biomass. This gives a total production of flesh and exuviae of 2 212 tonnes dry weight per year for Storm Bay.     

Cu和Pb对赤潮异弯藻(Heterosigma akashiwo)生长的影响

以添加了不同浓度的CuSO_4和Pb(NO_3)_2混合液的f/2培养基培养赤潮异弯藻,通过分析藻的最大生长密度、生长周期及比生长率这3个参数与Cu和Pb之间的相关关系,讨论2种重金属对赤潮异弯藻生长的影响以及2种重金属之间的互作效应。结果表明,Cu为0～0.02 mg·L~(-1)或Pb为0～0.32 mg·L~(-1)时,对赤潮异弯藻生长有促进作用;当Pb浓度不同的条件下,Cu浓度达到0.5～2.5 mg·L~(-1)时,赤潮异弯藻生长受到明显抑制,甚至无法生长;在Cu浓度不同的条件下,Pb在1～9 mg·L~(-1)范围内,随着浓度的增加,对赤潮异弯藻生长抑制作用逐步增强。在Cu浓度为0～2.5 mg·L~(-1)或Pb浓度为1～9 mg·L~(-1)及两者互作条件下,赤潮异弯藻最大生长密度和生长周期都受到显著影响(P0.01)。另外,Cu和Pb对赤潮异弯藻比生长率无显著影响,两者相互作用不明显。结合湛江海域已报道的这2种重金属实际含量,进一步评估了海区中重金属的潜在生态效应。     

Clam predation by whelks (Busycon spp.): Experimental tests of the importance of prey size,prey density,and seagrass cover

In 57 l-m² samples within a meadow of Halodule wrightii in Bogue Sound, North Carolina, USA, densities of the clams Mercenaria mercenaria and Chione cancellata were positively associated with seagrass cover. Where seagrass was experimentally removed, marked individuals of both clam species exhibited high rates of mortality in fine sand sediments during two successive experiments spanning 13 months. In the unaltered (control) seagrass meadow, M. mercenaria density remained constant over 13 months and C. cancellata density declined at a slower rate than in the unvegetated plots. Seagrass provides these clams with a refuge from whelk (Busycon carica, B. contrarium, and B. canaliculatum) predation, the major cause of mortality and population decline in experimentally unvegetated plots. In 2 factorial field experiments in unvegetated substratum in which densities of M. mercenaria and C. cancellata were varied independently, first over 5 levels (0 X, 1/2X, 1 X, 2 X, 4 X) and subsequently over 4 levels (0 X, 1/4 X, 1 X, 4 X), there was no repeatable intra- or interspecific effect of density on percent survival, or on the rate of any mortality type. Whelk predation fell preferentially on larger size classes of both species, whereas factors which contribute to clam disappearance usually acted more intensely on smaller sizes. Experimental exclusion of large predators by caging demonstrated that even in unvegetated substratum survivorship of both clam species was high in the absence of whelks and other predators. Individuals of C. cancellata live closer to the sediment surface than those of M. mercenaria, which may explain why seagrass does not serve as effectively to protect them from whelk predation. The mechanism of whelk inhibition may depend upon sediment binding by the H. wrightii root mat, which produces a demonstrable decrease in the physical penetrability of surface sediments.     

Relationship between lead concentrations in seawater and in the mussel Mytilus edulis: a water-quality criterion

Regression analysis on data collected from Port Phillip Bay and Western Port, Australia in 1979 shows that there is a significant equilibrium relationship between total recoverable lead in seawater and its concentrations in the mussel Mytilus edulis (P<0.001). The concentration of lead in seawater should not exceed 1.27 g l^-1 if the mussel is not to reach a lead concentration of 2.5 mg kg^-1 wet weight, a value frequently used as a food standard for human consumption. When a lead value of 2.5 mg kg^-1 wet weight is reached, the concentration factor by mussels for lead from seawater is 1969. The critical value of 1.27 g l^-1 could be used as a marine water-quality criterion for lead in waters where mussels are harvested.     

Contribution of moulting and eggs to secondary production in Nyctiphanes australis (Crustacea: Euphausiacea)

This study was designed to assess the contribution of moulting and eggs to production of the euphausiid Nyctiphanes australis G. O. Sars. For this purpose, live specimens were collected from Storm Bay, south-eastern Tasmania, between August and December 1981, while preserved samples, collected between February 1980 and February 1981, were also examined. The intermoult period of N. australis increased exponentially with increase in body length and weight. Larvae moulted approximately every 2.5 to 3 d and adults every 4 to 5 d at 15°C. A decrease in temperature from 15° to 10°C resulted in the intermoult period almost doubling. The mean weight of exuviae produced represented nearly 6% of the body dry weight of the individual. Continuous maturation of ova was observed, with an individual female capable of releasing a total of 1 100 eggs in a lifetime. These are deposited as a series of batches into a pair of external ovisacs every 30 d. The size of the batch of eggs was dependent on the size of the female. Moulting of euphausiids forms a significant contribution of organic matter to detrital food webs. A value of 42.01 mg m^-3 yr^-1 was obtained for the production of exuviae. Egg production was calculated to be between 1.41 and 4.22 mg m^-3 yr^-1. Production and mean annual biomass of N. australis was previously calculated as 78.29 mg m^-3 yr^-1 and 5.39 mg m^-3, respectively. Thus, the total production integrated for the whole of Storm Bay was 125 mg m^-3 yr^-1 or 2 309 tonnes dry wt yr^-1, representing an overall P:B ratio of 23.1.     

Differences in productivities between the Great Australian Bight and the Gulf of Carpentaria,Australia, in summer

Phytoplankton standing crop (chlorophyll a) and primary productivity were recorded, and zooplankton biomass was estimated in the two large bays of Australia, the Great Australian Bight on the south coast (December, 1965) and the Gulf of Carpentaria on the north coast (December, 1968). In the Gulf of Carpentaria, the phytoplankton standing crop (average, 27.3 mg chlorophyll a m^-2) and primary productivity (average, 133.1 mg C m^-2 h^-1), as well as zooplankton biomass (average, 305.3 mg wet weight m^-3) are much higher than in the Great Australian Bight (12.1 mg chlorophyll a m^-2, 18.2 mg C m^-2 h^-1, 7.1 mg wet weight m^-3, respectively). The unexpectedly low productivity values in the Great Australian Bight are attributable to environmental conditions of this bay, which obtains neither replenishment of nutrients from the land nor receives upwelling of deep water.