A note on the energy budget for an oyster population in a temperate estuary
In: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Elsevier: New York. ISSN 0022-0981; e-ISSN 1879-1697, meer
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| Abstract |
There are six beds of oysters in the estuary of the Beaulieu River, Hampshire; these correspond to areas of gravel bottom. Between November, 1974 and November, 1975 the population was dominated by large individuals (>5 years) and there was no evidence of significant recruitment during the previous two to three years. During the year the population filtered material with an energy content of 15.95 × 106 kcal; 30.4% of this is estimated to have been rejected as pseudofaeces; of the remainder, which was consumed, 30.7% was passed as faeces, 29.0% was respired and lost as heat, 6.4% was diverted into production of soft tissue and shell organics. and 5.5% was released as gonad output. The remaining 28.4% may be partly accounted for as excreta lost to the population as mucus and dissolved organic matter. Gonad output was proportionally large due to the presence of a high percentage of older individuals; this energy was lost from the population and there was no recruitment. |
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