Planktonic ciliates in Southampton Water: abundance,biomass, production,and role in pelagic carbon flow |
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Authors: | R J G Leakey P H Burkill M A Sleigh |
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Institution: | (1) Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, West Hoe, PL1 3DH Plymouth, Devon, England;(2) Department of Biology, University of Southampton, Medical and Biological Sciences Building, Bassett Crescent East, SO9 3TU Southampton, England;(3) Present address: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross Madingley Road, CB3 0ET Cambridge, England |
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Abstract: | The abundance and biomass of marine planktonic ciliates were determined at monthly intervals at two stations in Southampton Water between June 1986 and June 1987. The two stations, an outer one at Calshot and an inner one at N. W. Netley, were subject to differing marine and terrestrial influences. The potential ciliate production at cach station on each visit was estimated from these data. Enumeration of ciliates and measurements of biovolume were performed on Lugol's iodinepreserved samples and potential production was calculated using a predictive relationship based on temperature and cell volume. Heterotrophic ciliate abundance and biomass were greatest at both stations during spring and summer months, with respective maxima of 16x103 organisms 1-1 and 219 g Cl-1 recorded at N. W. Netley. Estimates of the potential production of the ciliate community ranged from <1 to 18 g Cl-1 d-1 at Calshot and <1 to 141 g Cl-1 at N. W. Netley, with annual values of 2 and 9 mg Cl-1 yr-1, respectively. Abundances, biomass and potential production estimates were generally greater at N. W. Netley than at Calshot. Carbon flow through the ciliate community was assessed using annual production values from both this study and the literature. The annual ciliate carbon requirement was equivalent to 9 and 11% of annual primary production at Calshot and N. W. Netley, and potential annual ciliate production was equivalent to 34% and >100% of the energy requirements of metazoan zooplankton at these locations, although comprising only 8 and 10% of their available food. |
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