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JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH | VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 3 | PAGES 557-569 | 1998
© Oxford University Press

research-article

Production of tropical larvaceans in Kingston Harbour, Jamaica: are we ignoring an important secondary producer?

Russell R. Hopcroft1 and John C. Roff

Department of Zoology, University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada

Received on November 20, 1996; accepted on November 10, 1997

The larvacean community was observed during an 18 month period at the mouth of eutrophic Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. During this period, larvaceans averaged 3607 m–3 with a biomass of 2.2mg ash-free dry weight m–3 (32.6mg AFDW m–2 in a community dominated by Oiko pleura longicauda There were no relationships between larvacean biornass and any size fraction of chlorophyll, suggesting that other factors must normally regulate larvacean communities. The evidence indicates that this regulation is by predation. Annual production by larvaceans was 586 kJ m–3 year –1 (29.3 g AFDW m–2 year–1); production of houses could represent an added 300–600 kJ m–2 year. While copepod biomass was 10 times higher than that of the larvaceans during the same period, copepod growth rates were only one.third those of larvaceans. Thus, larvacean annual production is at least 30% that of the copepods, due to their rapid growth rates, and at least 50% that of the copepods when house production is considered. The contribution of larvaceans to plankton production has been underappreciated historically when only their biomass is considered.

1Present address :Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039-0628, USA


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