Macrofaunal production along the UK continental shelf

Estimates of secondary production (P/B ratio and total production) by macrobenthic communities across the UK continental shelf are presented. Values for individual sampling stations varied from 0.21 to 4.1y^-1 for community P/B and 3.1 to 897.2kJm^-2y^-1 for total production. Such data fills an important gap pertaining to our understanding of the spatial variation in production estimates for this region. Benthic production estimates varied primarily at small (inter-station) scales (24nm), although larger-scale differences were observed. In general, the highest production estimates were exhibited by benthic communities in Cardigan Bay (Irish Sea) and East English Channel, while the lowest estimates were observed for the mid- and northern North Sea areas. The former were typified by shallow, gravelly areas of seabed which exhibit high bed tidal stress and do not thermally stratify during the summer months. On average, annelids contribute an overwhelming majority of the total production with different regions varying in the relative contributions from other phyla such as molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.Spatial heterogeneity of sediment granulometric variables occurred primarily between stations while those of other variables (e.g., depth, stratification, and tidal bed stress) were more regional. Although a large proportion of the spatial variation in secondary production estimates was not explained by environmental characteristics, the data indicate that such relationships are scale-dependent. Average bed temperature was a significant factor in creating some of the observed differences at large spatial scales. The possible reasons why a larger proportion of the variation in production estimates was not explained by the present study are presented.

Environmental Factors, Macrofauna, Secondary Production, UK Continental Shelf

10.1016/j.seares.2010.02.003

1385-1101

166-179

Bolam, Stefan G.

7f315777-8ab2-472b-9935-24afb8f66b08

Barrio-Frojan, C. R.S.

4935e7ee-ac0f-41bd-b00b-2c5806561d74

Eggleton, J. D.

94a22a92-2787-4283-9b99-8a42485f17cf

14 February 2010

Bolam, Stefan G.

7f315777-8ab2-472b-9935-24afb8f66b08

Barrio-Frojan, C. R.S.

4935e7ee-ac0f-41bd-b00b-2c5806561d74

Eggleton, J. D.

94a22a92-2787-4283-9b99-8a42485f17cf

Bolam, Stefan G., Barrio-Frojan, C. R.S. and Eggleton, J. D. (2010) Macrofaunal production along the UK continental shelf. Journal of Sea Research, 64 (3), 166-179. (doi:10.1016/j.seares.2010.02.003).

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Published date: 14 February 2010

Additional Information: Funding Information: This work was funded by the Science Directorate of the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (project code ME3112 ). Earlier versions of this manuscript were greatly improved following comments by Drs. Simon Jennings, Michaela Schratzberger and Stuart Rogers at Cefas, and of two anonymous reviewers. We would like to thank a number of Cefas staff involved in sample collection and processing, and Dr. John Aldridge for providing the modelled physical data. Obtaining production estimates was made far easier with the help and advice given by Dr. Tom Brey, and the spreadsheet freely available on his website. Finally, Dr. Mike Robertson at the Fisheries Research Services, Aberdeen, Scotland, is thanked for providing macrofaunal samples from the west coast of Scotland.

Keywords: Environmental Factors, Macrofauna, Secondary Production, UK Continental Shelf