Benthic Foraminifera biomass production in the western Baltic

• Main Authors: Wefer, Gerold, Lutze, Gerhard F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Institut für Meereskunde 1976
• Subjects: Subarctic
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/56024/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/56024/1/Wefer_G_Lutze_GF_1976.pdf

The biomass (weight of protoplasm) and production of the major species of benthic Foraminifera was calculated for the "Hausgarten" area of Sonderforschungsbereich 95. Data from 440 samples collected between 1971 and 1975 were used for these calculations. Biomass production of Foraminifera is 10-90 mg wet weight/m2/y in the turbulent zone and up to 5411 mg/m2/y in the basins. Epiphytic species produce 13-26 mg wet weight/m2/y. These values are higher than those recorded in the literature with the exception of the subarctic. The foraminiferal proportion of total meiobenthos biomass ranges between 6% in the turbulent zone and 63% in the basin.