Sterols in coral-reef animals

The sterol constituents of both coral and non-coral-reef animals (mollusks, coelenterates, echinoderms) have been investigated, and determined by gas-liquid chromatography and spectral analyses. All coral-reef animals examined contained larger amounts of C₂₈-sterols, such as 24-methylcholesterol, than non-coral-reef animals. The seastar Acanthaster planci contains the same sterol constituents as some coral-reef coelenterates and mollusks, differing only in the position of the double bond in a steroid ring. This observation suggests the transport of dietary ⁵-sterols to ⁷-sterols through the food-chain in A. planci.     

Daily photosynthesis,respiration, and carbon budgets in a tropical marine jellyfish (Mastigias sp.)

From measured diel photosynthesis and respiration rates, using oxygen electrodes, estimates of carbon flux between symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) and host animal are presented for the marine scyphomedusan Mastigias sp. from a marine lake in Palau, Western Caroline Islands, during February and March 1982. The carbon budgets calculated for these lake medusae indicate that carbon fixed photosynthetically by zooxanthellae and made available to the host may satisfy up to 100% of the host's daily metabolic carbon demand (CZAR). The stable carbon isotope (¹³C) signature of the mesogleal carbon of lake Mastigias sp. was close to that of the zooxanthellae, supporting the interpretation that while these medusae may feed holozoically, some of their carbon comes from their symbionts. The diel photosynthesis, respiration, and preliminary estimates of carbon budgets of three individuals of another ecotype of Mastigias sp. collected from nearby oceanic lagoons are also given. Photosynthesis of lagoon medusae was generally greater than that for lake medusae of similar size, and lagoon medusae were phototrophic with respect to carbon, with commensurately greater CZAR values. Carbon translocated from the symbiotic algae also may contribute to the growth requirements of both lake and lagoon medusae. From carbon flux data, the lake jellyfish were estimated to contribute about 16% to the total primary productivity of their marine lake habitat.     

Dietary constraints on reproductive periodicity in two sympatric deep-sea astropectinid seastars

Examination of the diet of two sympatric species of seastar, Bathybiaster vexillifer and Plutonaster bifrons from 2200 m depth in the Rockall Trough, NE Atlantic Ocean (57°18'N; 10°28'W), suggested that diet may determine the different reproductive patterns found between these two species. In the non-seasonally breeding B. vexillifier, the diet showed a high Shannon-Wiener prey diversity index, the dominant prey being the irregular echinoid Hemiaster expergitus together with a variety of prosobranch gastropods and protobranch bivalves. By contrast, the prey diversity in the seasonally breeding P. bifrons was significantly lower than that of B. vexillifer. In addition, organic carbon content in the sediment residue in the stomachs of P. bifrons displayed a seasonal cycle, while no such seasonality was detected in B. vexillifer. The stomachs of P. bifrons also contained a higher proportion of scavenged material, including the seasonally available remains of mesopelagic blue whiting. These data, together with Bathysnap (time-lapse camera) observations of feeding behaviour in both species, suggest that B. vexillifer is a predator feeding deep in the sediment, whereas P. bifrons feeds close to the sediment surface where it is affected by the seasonal availability of phytodetritus and fish carcasses.     

Constancy and change in marine predator diets across a shift in oceanographic conditions in the Northern California Current

Variable ocean conditions can greatly impact prey assemblages and predator foraging in marine ecosystems. Our goal was to better understand how a change in ocean conditions influenced dietary niche overlap among a suite of midtrophic-level predators. We examined the diets of three fishes and one seabird off central Oregon during two boreal summer upwelling periods with contrasting El Niño (2010) and La Niña (2011) conditions. We found greater niche specialization during El Niño and increased niche overlap during La Niña in both the nekton and micronekton diet components, especially in the larger, more offshore predators. However, only the two smaller, more nearshore predators exhibited interannual variation in diet composition. Concurrent trawl surveys confirmed that changes in components of predator diets reflected changes in the prey community. Using multiple predators across diverse taxa and life histories provided a comprehensive understanding of food-web dynamics during changing ocean conditions.     

Incorporation of organic aggregates by marine mussels

Two marine mussels, Geukensia demissa (Dillwyn) and Mytilus edulis (L.) collected in 1990 in Old Silver Beach, Falmouth, Massachusetts, incorporated nitrogen when fed ¹⁵N-labelled organic aggregates produced from dissolved organic nitrogen released by the brown sea-weed Fucus vesiculosis. Uptake of ¹⁵N on the aggregate diet was linear over the course of 24 h, and unincorporated ¹⁵N was eliminated from the gut after 48 h. Both species of mussels incorporated approximately five times more N when they were fed organic aggregates than when they were fed either ¹⁵N-labelled dissolved organic material (DOM) or particulate detritus, both of which were also derived from the seaweed. Nitrogen uptake was greatest in controls fed the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii; mussels fed phytoplankton incorporated seven times more nitrogen than those fed aggregates. However, aggregates could supply an estimated 7 to 14% of the N requirements for both mussels, whereas DOM or particulate detritus could only supply 1 to 3%. These data provide evidence that a food web pathway exists from primary producer to released dissolved organic nitrogen to microbial organic aggregate to metazoan consumer, and, further, that it can be more important in a detrital food web than either particulate detritus or DOM.     

Mass culture of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and its evaluation as a food for larval anchovies

Growth rates of anchovy larvae, Engraulis mordax, reared for 19 days under constant environmental conditions on a diet of laboratory-cultured organisms, exceeded the growth rates of anchovies fed on a diet of wild plankton. The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis was found to be a nutritous food source when fed to the larvae in concentrations of 10 to 20/ml and in combination with the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium splendens (100/ml). Optimum conditions were determined for mass culture of the rotifer. A high food concentration was the most important parameter needed to assure a high yield of rotifers. Large volumes (464 I) of the unicellular flagellate Dunaliella sp. were cultured for feeding the rotifers. The rotifer culture technique described produces approximately 2.5×10⁶ organisms/day, providing a reliable food source for rearing studies. The lengths of B. plicatilis (without eggs) ranged between 99 and 281 , most rotifers being larger than 164 and less than 231 . Individuals weighed 0.16 g and contained 8×10^-4 cal.     

Variability of stable isotopes and maximum linear extension in reef-coral skeletons at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

Stable-isotope and growth records of coral skeletons are often used to reconstruct tropical paleoclimate, yet few surveys have systematically examined the natural variability in coral skeletal ¹³C, ¹⁸O and maximum linear skeletal extension (MLSE) across depth. Here, interspecific, intraspecific, and geographical variations in coral skeletal ¹³C, ¹⁸O, and MLSE were examined in the corals Porites compressa, P. lobata, and Montipora verrucosa grown at 1.7, 5.0, and 8.3 m depth from August 1996 to March 1997 at The Point Reef and Patch Reef #41 field sites in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Coral skeletal ¹³C values significantly decreased with depth and differed between species, but did not vary between field sites. ¹⁸O values were not significantly different across depth within a species, but did differ among species and field sites. High-resolution analysis of the intra-annual variation in skeletal ¹³C and ¹⁸O in P. compressa at 2.0 m depth confirms that these isotopes reflect changes in solar irradiance and temperature, respectively. Changes in MLSE across depth were consistent within, but highly variable among, species. Peak MLSE occurred at 1.7, 5.0, and 8.3 m for P. lobata, P. compressa, and M. verrucosa, respectively. Such interspecific variation in MLSE patterns may be attributable to one or more of the following: increases in zooplankton in the diet, changes in metabolic processes, or changes in growth form with depth. Overall, these results imply that natural inter- and intraspecific variability in coral skeletal ¹³C, ¹⁸O, and MLSE should be considered when interpreting and comparing coral-based tropical paleoclimate data from various coral species, depths, and field sites. Received: 6 October 1998 / Accepted: 8 July 1999     

Differential feeding and fecal pellet composition of salps and pteropods,and the possible origin of the deep-water flora and olive-green “Cells”

Salps (mainly Salpa fusiformis and, to a lesser extent, Pegea socia) and a web-building pteropod (Corolla spectabilis) were studied in epipelagic waters of the central California Current. Although both kinds of gelatinous zooplankton trap phytoplankton in a mucus net, a fecal pellet analysis indicated that their diet differs significantly when they feed together, probably because of differences both in the pore sizes of their nets and in their feeding methods. Salps have a finemesh filter, on which they can retain even the smallest phytoplankton; thus, when small coccolithophores are abundant, as they were in our study, salp feces contain such cells and the coccoliths derived from them. In contrast, pteropods feeding in the same area produce fecal pellets consisting chiefly of larger phytoplankton, especially diatoms. Since fecal pellets transport most biogenic material to the deep sea, changes in herbivore species composition at a given geographic location can change the chemistry of materials entering deep water; at our study site, the more salps, the greater the calcite flux, and, the more pteropods, the greater the silica flux. In addition, fecal pellets of both salps and pteropods include partially digested residues of phytoplankton that appear as olive-green spheres, having an ultrastructure identical with that of the socalled olive-green cells. Presumably, fecal pellets, after sinking into deep water, ultimately disintegrate. releasing both the viable phytoplankton and the olive-green spheres into aphotic waters. Thus the feces of epipelagic herbivores are likely sources of much of the flora of the deep ocean.     

Normoxic and anoxic energy metabolism of the southern oyster drillThais haemastoma during salinity acclimation

The energetic cost associated with salinity acclimation was determined in the marine gastropodThais haemastoma by direct calorimetry under normoxic and anoxic conditions. Snails were collected from Caminada Pass near Grand Isle, Louisiana (Longitude 90°2W; Latitude 29°2N) in September 1987. Metabolic heat flux of snails acclimated to and measured at 10 or 30 S was similar at 15.06 or 16.39 J g^–1 dry wt h^–1, respectively, (corresponding to 0.76 or 0.83 ml O₂ g^–1 dry flesh wt h^–1) under normoxic conditions, and 2.39 or 2.53 J g^–1 dry wt h^–1 under anoxic conditions. Inter-individual variability was high, obscuring the effect of salinity gradient on heat flux. When standardized to the pre-transfer control level of each individual under anoxic conditions, a significant increase (55%) of energy expenditure was observed for snails transferred to hyperosmotic conditions. In contrast, heat flux varied insignificantly in individuals in the anoxic 30 to 10 S transfer. After transfer of individuals from 10 to 30 S under normoxic conditions, heat flux was depressed initially to 38% of the control rate, but recovered after 14 h to a higher metabolic rate (56%) than the pre-transfer control rate. After transfer of individuals from 30 to 10 S under normoxic conditions, the standardized heat flux decreased to 28% of the control rate, followed by a 20 h period of recovery to the control rate. The energy cost of intracellular hypoosmotic regulation was less than hyperosmotic regulation under anoxic conditions. The retraction of the foot ofT. haemastoma after normoxic salinity transfers did not generally correlate with the time course of metabolic heat flux.     

Effect of uranium on growth and reproduction of the marine amphipod Allorchestes compressa

Experiments on growth of the marine amphipod Allorchestes compressa Dana were carried out over four weeks, and both growth and reproduction were studied over three generations, each of which was exposed to uranium for approximately 10 wk. At 0.1 mg l^-1 the uranium increased growth by 23%, as measured by the mean weight after 4 wk, and at 2 mg l^-1 growth was reduced by 28% compared with the control. A. compressa accumulated uranium from sea water with a concentration factor of 10. There was no effect of uranium on the survival of amphipods or their progeny in the multiple-generation experiment, but the numbers of males, the sex ratio, and the respiration rate (measured on males only) at 1mg l^-1 were significantly lower than the control. A. compressa is shown to be a convenient species for the study of toxic effects on growth and reproduction using multiple-generation experiments.     

Dietary study of the midwater polychaete Poeobius meseres in Monterey Bay,California

This study presents the first quantification of the diet of a gelatinous midwater organism on a temporal basis. Using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's remotely operated vehicle Ventana, regular collections of the polychaete Poeobius meseres (Heath, 1930) over a 1 yr period (October 1990 to November 1991) in Monterey Bay yielded intact organisms for the study of feeding behavior and quantitative analysis of stomach contents. In situ observations showed P. meseres feeding in two different ways: (1) by deployment of a mucus web in the water column that passively collects particles for consumption; and/or (2) by grasping detrital material in the water column with its ciliated tentacles. Stomach-content analyses showed that P. meseres is primarily coprophagic, its diet being dominated by fecal pellets from euphausiids and copepods. These fecal pellets appear to provide P. meseres with essentially all its carbon. Although fecal pellets were the most important food item volumetrically, P. meseres also consumed large numbers of diatoms and small numbers of dinoflagellates, chrysophytes, radiolarians, foraminiferans and eggs. The diet of P. meseres appears to reflect primary productivity in the surface waters, with different food items predominant in the diet at different times of the year. Pennate diatoms were most abundant in the diet during the fall, centric diatoms were most abundant during the sumnier, and fecal pellets during the winter. The composition of P. meseres diet suggests that this and other midwater gelatinous organisms have a significant role in the remineralization of particles as they sink from the surface to the deep sea.     

Cryptobenthic fishes of the “Ciclopi Islands” marine reserve (central Mediterranean Sea): assemblage composition,structure and relations with habitat features

The fish assemblage of the Ciclopi Islands marine reserve, which is located along the eastern coast of Sicily (Central Mediterranean), was unknown until our study provided insight into the cryptobenthic fish assemblage inhabiting this integral reserve zone. Visual census surveys were periodically conducted along the littoral rocky shores of Lachea, the largest island of the Ciclopi archipelago. The fish assemblage, which comprised 20 species belonging to Blenniidae, Gobiidae, Tripterygiidae, Scorpaenidae and Gobiesocidae, was dominated by Scorpaena maderensis and Trypterigion delaisi. Species richness (S) did not show significant differences between the northern, eastern, southern and western island coasts, whereas both species diversity (H) and evenness (J) were significantly higher on the western coast than on the northern coast. The effect of the island coast on fish density was not significant with regard to the whole assemblage or to single species, except for S. maderensis and T. delaisi. The pattern of variation of assemblage parameters was mainly positively correlated with microhabitat variables, especially substratum composition and type of cover. The best predictors of fish total density were bottom slope, rugosity and substratum composition. Variations in relative species density were specified by a different combination of macro- and microhabitat variables. The density pattern of S. maderensis showed a positive relationship with depth. In T. delaisi, the influence of slope was interrelated to that of exposure to waves. This species preferentially inhabited flat habitat, sheltered from the open sea and covered by small boulders, but also more-exposed rockwalls. The population densities of Tripterygion melanurus and Lipophrys trigloides were negatively affected by depth, thus reflecting their preference for the upper infralittoral. T. melanurus was associated with a more complex habitat (stones and boulders), whereas L. trigloides was mainly censused on a narrow strip of solid rock between the waterline and 1 m depth.Communicated by R. Cattaneo-Vietti, Genova     

Laboratory-made artificial marine snow: a biological model of the real thing

Cylindrical tanks of unfiltered seawater were rotated on a roller table until the particles in the seawater formed aggregates resembling marine snow. During the summer of 1987 comparisons were made between marine snow in field samples from two coastal sites on seven separate dates, and aggregates formed in the laboratory in seawater samples taken on the same dates. Aggregates in field and laboratory samples were photographed and their dimensions were determined. Particulate composition of the aggregates was characterized by the abundance of diatoms, benthic diatoms, diatom frustules, mineral grains, fecal pellets, and fungal spores. Laboratory-prepared aggregates had a significantly greater short axis, and significantly larger calculated volume than field aggregates. Particulate compositions of field aggregates were paralleled by similar changes in the laboratory product. Dry weights of known numbers of aggregates collected on three dates indicated no significant differences in calculated densities or porosities of marine snow formed in the field and in the laboratory. We suggest that this method of forming marine snow in the laboratory may provide researchers with a useful experimental tool.     

Lipids and stable carbon isotopes in two species of Hawaiian corals,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Porites compressa</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Montipora verrucosa</Emphasis>, following a bleaching event

Mass coral bleaching events have occurred on a global scale throughout the worlds tropical oceans and can result in large-scale coral mortality and degradation of coral reef communities. Coral bleaching has often been attributed to periods of above normal seawater temperatures and/or calm conditions with high levels of ultraviolet radiation. Unusually high shallow-water temperature (>29°C) in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, USA, in late summer (20 August–9 September) and fall (1–7 October) of 1996 produced visible bleaching of two dominant corals, Porites compressa Dana, 1864 and Montipora verrucosa Dana, 1864. The present study examined chlorophyll a (chl a), total lipid concentrations, and lipid class composition in corals of both species in which the entire colony was non-bleached, moderately bleached, or bleached. Skeletal, host tissue, and algal symbiont ¹³C values were also measured in non-bleached and bleached colonies. In additional unevenly bleached colonies, paired samples were collected from bleached upper surfaces and non-bleached sides. Samples were collected on 20 November 1996 during the coral recovery phase, a time when seawater temperatures had been back to normal for over a month. Chl a levels were significantly lower in bleached colonies of both species compared with non-bleached specimens, and in bleached areas of unevenly bleached single colonies. Total lipid concentrations were significantly lower in bleached P. compressa compared with non-bleached colonies, whereas total lipid concentrations were the same in bleached and non-bleached M. verrucosa colonies. The proportion of triacylglycerols and wax esters was lower in bleached colonies of both species. Both bleached and non-bleached M. verrucosa had from ~17% to 35% of their lipids in the form of diacylglycerol, while this class was absent in P. compressa. ¹³C was not significantly different in the host tissue and algal symbiont fractions in non-bleached and bleached samples of either species. This suggests that the ratio of carbon acquired heterotrophically versus photosynthetically was the same regardless of condition. Skeletal ¹³C was significantly lower in bleached than in non-bleached corals. This is consistent with previous findings that lower rates of photosynthesis during bleaching results in lower skeletal ¹³C values. The two species in this study displayed different lipid class compositions and total lipid depletions following bleaching, suggesting that there is a difference in their metabolism of lipid reserves and/or in their temporal responses to bleaching and recovery.Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick     

Resource-partitioning and predation impact of a low-latitude myctophid community

This study, based on data collected during summer 1985 in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, examined the degree of overlap in two prime niche parameters, space and food, in 17 of the most abundant myctophid species which inhabit the epipelagic zone at night. Cluster-analyses of vertical distribution information and diet characteristics revealed that while large groups of species overlapped (>60%) in either vertical distributions or diet, when both niche parameters were considered together, little interspecific or intraspecific (size class) overlap occurred. Our data suggest that for myctophids trophic competition is reduced through resource-partitioning, although with considerable overlap at niche boundaries. Niche separation presumably is the result of competition during the evolution of the ecosystem and is maintained presently as diffuse competition: the effect on a species of the combined competition from all other species at that trophic level. We suggest that the large degree of niche overlap enables the packing of over 50 myctophid species in the epipelagic zone at night. Our calculations indicate that myctophid predation nightly removes 2% of the zooplankton biomass. Myctophid predation is selective in that greatest pressure is on certain size classes and types of prey (copepods, ostracods and euphausiids). In the case of copepods, impact is greatest on the larger, more mature stages and hence on the breeding population. It is estimated that myctophids account for at least one-third of the daily production of zooplankton removed from the epipelagic zone by micronekton in the eastern Gulf.     

Extracellular enzymatic activity and secondary production in free-living and marine-snow-associated bacteria

Abundance, production (measured as thymidine incorporation) and extracellular enzymatic activity in free-living and marine-snow-associated bacteria were measured in the northern Adriatic Sea. Although bacterial density and production were similar in both free-living and marine-snow-associated bacteria, hydrolytic activity (- and -glucosidase and l-aminopeptidase) was significantly higher in marine-snow-associated bacteria, in terms of both absolute and per-cell rates. As concentrations of dissolved total and monomeric carbohydrates and free amino acids in marine snow were very close to those in the ambient water, we suggest that the observed differences between free-living and marine-snow-associated baycteria do not simply reflect catabolic repression of enzyme expression in one of the bacterial components. Whether substrate induction is responsible for the observed higher hydrolase activity in marine-snow bacteria and/or whether there are distinct bacterial species obligatorily associated with marine snow remains unknown.     

Larval development in the Antarctic nemertean Parborlasia corrugatus (Heteronemertea: Lineidae)

Embryonic and larval development were followed from fertilisation to settlement in the Antarctic heteronemertean Parborlasia corrugatus (McIntosh, 1876). The first cleavage occurred 10 to 15 h after fertilisation, and the second at 17 h. Larvae hatched at the gastrula stage, between 170 and 200 h post-fertilisation, and were 150 m in diameter. Early larval stages aggregated in dense groups near the surface of incubation vessels and were positively phototactic. Early pilidium larvae were recognisable 435 h post-fertilisation. They were 155×152 m in size, and possessed a complete apical tuft of cilia and a full marginal band of locomotory cilia. At this stage, the gust was visible through the body wall, and the mouth was open and was 40 m in diameter. Late pilidia, 222×193 m in size, were helmet-shaped. They had an apical tuft over 100 m long, and possessed a lobed marginal band of locomotory cilia. Pilidia were observed aggregating close to the bottom of incubation vessels 1200 to 1350 h (50 to 56 d) after fertilisation, and this was interpreted as settlement behaviour. At this stage, the apical tuft had been lost and they were highly contractile, being capable of compressing their bodies. However, neither developing juveniles within the larval envelope nor hatched juveniles were observed. Pilidia consumed the microalgae Tetraselmis suecica, Thalassiosira pseudonana and Isochrysis galbana. They also fed on particulate organic material < 1 m in size, as shown by the presence of material in the guts of larvae offered filtered extracts of algal cultures. There was some indication that larvae could use dissolved organic material, since pilidia held in seawater with organic material removed did not survive as long as those in filtered seawater or in filtered water with added amino acids. However, the only larvae to exhibit settlement behaviour in the feeding experiments were those offered Tetraselmis succica and Thalassiosira pseudonana, and these required a longer development time to reach this stage than pilidia in the standard cultures, where a mixed algal diet was offered.     

Elemental composition of the hydrothermal vent clam Calyptogena magnifica from the East Pacific Rise

Specimens of the hydrothermal vent clam Calyptogena magnifica were collected at a depth of 2 600 m from 21° N on the East Pacific Rise in spring, 1982. The elemental composition was determined for the total soft tissues, individual organs, and the shell. The soft parts contained high concentrations of a number of trace metals. Iron, copper, and zinc, at 760, 148 and 2 152 g g^-1 dry weight, respectively, were present at the highest concentrations. Silver and antimony exhibited the greatest enrichments when their concentrations in C. magnifica were compared with those measured in a shallow-water marine mussel, Mytilus edulis. In contrast to the soft parts, the shell was not a site of metal accumulation or deposition. Within the soft parts; gills, kidney, pericardium, and mantle were involved in the concentration of various metals; the degree of concentration varied depending on the particular metal under consideration. C. magnifica possesses metal body burdens which are ordinarily considered to be very high and potentially toxic in other species.     

Microbial associations in sponges. III. Ultrastructure of the in situ associations in coral reef sponges

Symbiotic cyanobacteria are associated with marine sponges in three ways: the majority are free-living in the mesohyl; large aggregates occur in cyanocytes (specialized, vacuolated archeocytes); and few are present in digestive vacuoles. The cyanobacteria in Jaspis stellifera and Neofibularia irata are morphologically similar to those described in Mediterranean sponges, whereas those in Pericharax heteroraphis are different. The freeliving bacterial populations are morphologically similar, although the number of bacteria varies between the species. The fourth sponge Ircinia wistarii contains a mixed bacterial population unlike those in the other sponges. Sponge digestion of microbial associates is rare and not considered to contribute significant nutrients.     

Nutrient regeneration in shallow-water sediments of the estuarine plume region of the nearshore Georgia Bight,USA

Benthic community respiration and the cycling of N and P were seasonally investigated in the unprotected, sandy sediments (Z5m) of the nearshore zone of the Georgia Bight, USA in 1981 and 1982. Nutrient exchange across the sediment-water interface was calculated from a diffusive model, measured by in-situ enclosure experiments and estimated from whole core incubations. Seasonally changing pore water profiles indicated that the sediments were not in steady-state with respect to N and P and showed the characteristics of enhanced interstitial water movement by benthic animals. Over an annual period the total flux of nitrogen measured in situ averaged 1812 mol m^-2 d^-1 from the sediments. NH ₄ ⁺ flux accounted for the vast majority of the total directly measured N flux (77%), followed by nitrate + nitrite (14%), and dissolved organic nitrogen (9%). Phosphorus flux averaged 537 mol m^-2 d^-1. A large ratio of in-situ fluxes to calculated diffusive fluxes (5.2:1) indicated flux enhancement due to benthic animal activity. ammonium fluxes measured in situ did not agree well with the rate of NH ₄ ⁺ produced in incubated whole cores (11.7 mmol m^-2 d^-1). Relative rates of C, N and P release throughout the year fluctuated considerably. Generally, nutrient fluxes were not simply related to respiration or temperature. As respiration was highly correlated with temperature, however, this suggested that respiration-regeneration was temporarily decoupled from exchange across the sediment-water interface. The annual C-N-P flux stoichiometry was 130:3.1:1. Using the rate at which NH ₄ ⁺ was produced in incubated cores the stoichiometry was 120:21:1. The anomalously low N flux measured in situ was attributed to a combination of denitrification and wave-and current-induced sediment nutrient flushing. The potential for sediment flushing is high as experiments showed that sediments were fluidized or resuspended down to 25 cm during large storms. Benthic nutrient flux contributed 40% to the annual P but only 11% to the annual N requirements of the pelagic primary producers.This is Contribution No. 558 from the University of Georgia Marine Institute. This work was supported by the Georgia Sea Grant College Program maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Department of Commerce, under Grant No. NA80AA-D-00091