Abstract
Measurements of fecal pellet volume together with body length/body carbon weight were made for major zooplankters of the Inland Sea of Japan. The pellet volume was highly correlated with animal body size for copepods (10 species combined), a mysid (Neomysis japonica), a larvacean (Oikopleura dioica) and a pelagic shrimp (Acetes japonicus), and a specific equation was given for each group. A single equation could describe the composite relationship between pellet volume (PV, μm3) and body carbon weight (C, μg) for copepods andN. japonica: logPV=0.85logC+4.56. Balanid nauplii,O. dioica and a doliolidDolioletta gegenbauri produced pellets larger, butA. japonicus produced pellets smaller, than those by copepods andN. japonica of equivalent body carbon weight. In general, larger zooplankters produce larger fecal pellets. Hence, the size composition of the zooplankton community is an important parameter for the variation in the vertical flux of material via fecal pellets.
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Uye, Si., Kaname, K. Relations between fecal pellet volume and body size for major zooplankters of the Inland Sea of Japan. J Oceanogr 50, 43–49 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233855
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233855