An Estimate of Benthic Macrofaunal Production in the Offshore Mud of the Northumberland Coast

Abstract

This paper reports the first phase of an extended exercise in benthic ecology, involving both long- and short-term aims. The short-term aim is to examine the benthic fauna of representative substrate types for a period of a year and to compute the net secondary production of the infaunal macrofauna in terms of ash-free dry weight per square metre per annum. The intention is to identify from among the bulk of species those animals which have the highest productive capacity, to rank these in order of productive importance, and finally to give our best estimate of the production of the animal assemblage as a whole.