Secondary production within a seagrass bed (Zostera marina andRuppia maritima) in lower Chesapeake Bay |
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| Authors: | Thomas J Fredette Robert J Diaz |
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| Institution: | 1. Dredged Material Management Section New England Division, COE, 424 Trapelo Road, 02254-9149, Waltham, Massachusetts
2. Virginia Institute of Marine Scinece School of Marine Science, College of Villiam and Mary, 23062, Gloucester Point, Virginia
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| Abstract: | Monthly sampling of a 140-ha seagrass bed in the lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, revealed that 13 numerically and trophically important species, representing about 20% of the total community densities over the year-long study period, accounted for the production of ≈42 g dry wt m?2 yr?1. This estimate is likely conservative due to our assumptions on voltinism and fixed size at maturity regardless of season for the species studied. The isopodErichsonella attenuata accounted for 17.6 g dry wt m?2 yr?1 or 42% of the calculated total production, while the portunid decapodCallinectes sapidus and the amphipodGammarus mucronatus each accounted for 7.7 g dry wt m?2 yr?1. The 10 remaining species (4 peracarids, 4 molluscs, and 2 decapods) each produced less than 2 g dry wt m?2 yr?1. Total seagrass-associated secondary production was estimated to equal or exceed 200 g dry wt m?2yr?1. By applying this estimate to the entire 140-ha grassbed, we projected that, on average, 4.8 metric tons dry wt of invertebrate standing stock and 55.9 metric tons of invertebrate production occur over the year. |
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