Population Dynamics Of Magellania Fragilis , a Brachiopod Dominating a Mixed-Bottom Macrobenthic Assemblage on the Antarctic Shelf
A dense assemblage of the brachiopod Magellania fragilis was sampled by trawl and underwater photography during the expedition ANT IX/3 (1991) of RV ‘Polarstern’ on the shelf of the Lazarev Sea, Antarctica. Mean abundance and biomass estimates for M. fragilis were 26.15 individuals m 2 and 1.13 g AF...
| Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1995
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400038200 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400038200 |
| Summary: | A dense assemblage of the brachiopod Magellania fragilis was sampled by trawl and underwater photography during the expedition ANT IX/3 (1991) of RV ‘Polarstern’ on the shelf of the Lazarev Sea, Antarctica. Mean abundance and biomass estimates for M. fragilis were 26.15 individuals m 2 and 1.13 g AFDM m 2 , respectively. Growth bands visible on the shell were interpreted as annual growth marks caused by the strong seasonality of food input to the benthos and were treated as size-at-age data. The von Bertalanffy growth function L t (mm) = 51.67 (1 - e 0020 (t +1.326))3.828 described these data best. The annual somatic P/B ratio was very low, 0.046 y 1 , and annual production amounted to 0.052 g AFDM m 2 y 1 at this particular site. These results indicate that M. fragilis is a comparatively slow-growing species with very low annual productivity. |
|---|