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New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

Length-mass models for some common New Zealand littoral-benthic macroinvertebrates, with a note on within-taxon variability in parameter values among published models

Rick J. Stoffels1
Stefanie Karbe2
Rachel A. Paterson1

1Department of Zoology
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin, New Zealand
email: rick.stoffels@toroa.otago.ac.nz

2Fachhochschule Eberswalde
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 28
16225 Eberswalde
Berlin, Germany

Abstract   Regression models are developed and presented to predict dry mass (mg) from two linear dimensions (mm) for 17 benthic macroinvertebrate taxa common to littoral zones of New Zealand lakes. We also provide regression models to predict body length from head capsule width for the major insect taxa. Dry mass was best explained as a power function of all linear dimensions: M = aLb. Parameters are presented in the log10-transformed linear form of this power function. Body length was a simple linear function of head capsule width for all insect taxa, hence parameters for these models are presented as untransformed values. We also provide family level models for the Chironomidae, and compare our chironomid body length-mass model with other published Chrionomidae length-mass models. There was a very high degree of variability in parameter values among published length-mass models for the family Chironomidae (mean coefficient of variation for mass at length = 148%). We discuss the potential causes and implications of this variability.

Keywords   benthic macroinvertebrates; biomass; dry mass; length-mass regressions; length-mass conversion; littoral zone; secondary production

M02068 Received 2 September 2002; accepted 9 February 2003 ; Published 20 June 2003
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2003, Vol. 37: 449-460
0028-8330/03/3702-0449 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2003

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