New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

---

Energy transfer through the shelf benthos off the west coast of South Island, New Zealand

P. K. PROBERT*

New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Division of Marine and Freshwater Science Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Private Bag, Kilbirnie Wellington North New Zealand

Abstract Carbon-flow pathways are proposed for the muddy-shelf benthos off the coast of West-land and north-west Nelson, New Zealand (southeastern Tasman Sea). They are largely from bio-mass estimates of sediment bacteria (adenosine tri-phosphate assay), meiofauna, macrofauna, and demersal fish, and literature values of production/ biomass ratios and energy transfer efficiencies. It is assumed that benthic secondary production (deposit-feeder dominated) is mediated largely by microbial production, estimated for the upper 2 cm of sediment, as 39 gC irr² y~'. About half this production may be required by benthic invertebrates: meiofaunal production, provisionally estimated as 3.6gCm~²y~' consuming 12gCm~²y~' and macrofaunal production, at 1.8gCm~²y~' using 6gCrrr²y~'. Bottom-feeding fish, with a production of at least 0.05gCm-²y-' are estimated to consume 0.5 gC rrr² y '. The dominant source of energy for the benthos is pelagic primary production, estimated to average 182gCrrr²y-' on the shelf, and supplying some 76 gC irr² y-' to the benthos. Although the study area receives a major riverine input (at least 4.5 X 10¹⁰ m³ y-'), this appears to be a relatively minor source of assimilable carbon for the shelf benthos. Primary production appears high in relation to benthic secondary production and mechanisms that may account for this are discussed.

Keywords micro-organisms; benthos; demersal fisheries; primary production; secondary production; biomass; carbon; energy flow; continental shelf; sediment; Tasman Sea; New Zealand

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1986, Vol. 20 : 407-417 Received 8 August 1985; accepted 28 November 1985

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (921K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page