Abstract
In temperate and tropical seas, bioturbation resulting from the burrowing and feeding activities of deposit-feeding callianassid shrimp can have an important impact on the ecosystem. In Gorda Sound, British Virgin Islands, 97 μmol NH4 ˙ m−2 ˙ d−1 and 0.2 μmol PO4 ˙ m−2 ˙ d−1 were released to the water column from burrows of callianassid shrimps (Callianassa rathbunae and Calliax Jonesi). Benthic gross primary production was 288 mg C ˙ m−2 ˙ d−1 and the ratio of gross production to total community 24-hr. respiration was 0.86. The flux of dissolved nutrients released from shrimp burrows could supply less than 5% of the need calculated for benthic primary production, while the net flux from the total benthic community could support 21% of the estimated demand. Stable carbon isotope measurements indicated that these callianassid shrimp derive 100% of their nutritional requirements from benthic microflora.
Recommended Citation
Murphy, Richard C., and James N. Kremer. 1992. "Benthic community metabolism and the role of deposit-feeding callianassid shrimp." Journal of Marine Research 50, (2). https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal_of_marine_research/2037