@ 1982, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc. Production dynamics of some arctic Chironomus larvae

• Main Authors: Malcolm G. Butler, Ahs Tract
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Barrow; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.578.339; http://www.aslo.org/lo/toc/vol_27/issue_4/0728.pdf

Production and standing stock were determined for a two-species population of Chirono-mus larvae in a tundra pond near Barrow, Alaska, from 1975 through 1977. These larvae take 7 years from recruitment to adult emergence, and a multicohort population was always found. Cohort-specific values for standing stock and annual production were calculated from size and abundance data for seven cohorts found in each sample. Total standing stock ranged from 6.7 to 12.3 g-m- ’ (dry wt), and total annual production values were 5.4,3.6, and 3.4 g*rn- ’ in the 3 years. Low temporal variation in both standing stock and annual production results from the multicohort structure of the population. Life table methods were used to estimate a value of 4.5 game2 for cohort production over a 7-year life cycle. Cohort P:B was 3.6, which is typical for Chironomus. Annual P:B values averaged only 0.49 because annual standing stock is about seven times greater than average cohort biomass over the life cycle, while annual production is comparable to cohort produc-Estimates of secondary production by aquatic macroinvertebrates depend on a knowledge of life history characteristics.