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Biomass and trophic structure of the macrobenthos in the south-west lagoon of New Caledonia

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Abstract

The biomass of the macrobenthic communities of the southwest lagoon of New Caledonia is analysed with special reference to tropical soft-bottom assemblages. The samples were obtained in 1986 from 350 Smith-McIntyre grabs as well as by diving over an area of 3 500 m2, and covered a wide size-range of benthic organisms. The classification of the biomass data into taxonomic groups revealed the following: (1) a zoobenthic biomass (mean=13 g ash-free dry wt m-2) that is high compared to values previously published for tropical systems, but fairly low compared to those recorded for medium and high latitudes; (2) a large macrophytic biomass (45% of ash-free dry wt); (3) dominance by weight of sponges, molluscs and cnidarians over the other faunal groups. The distribution of the biomass among the trophic groups revealed the following: (1) the dominance by weight of suspension-feeders, which account for 67% of the total zoobenthic ash-free dry wt; (2) the absence of trophic group amensalism between filter-feeders and deposit-feeders whatever the degree of bottom muddiness; (3) the existence of a relationship between the biomass of surface deposit-feeders and ATP at the surface layer of the sediment, suggesting that this group feeds preferentially on living particles. Differences in trophic structure between the muddy-bottom, greysand and white-sand communities of the lagoon reflect the functional characteristics of each bottom type.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFREMER, Centre de Brest, B.P. 337, F-29273, Brest cédex, France

    P. Chardy

  2. ORSTOM, Centre de Nouméa, B.P. A5, Nouméa, New Caledonia

    J. Clavier

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  1. P. Chardy
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Communicated by J. M. Pérès, Marseille

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Chardy, P., Clavier, J. Biomass and trophic structure of the macrobenthos in the south-west lagoon of New Caledonia. Mar. Biol. 99, 195–202 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391981

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