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STUDIES ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE MAJOR ZOOPLANKTON GROUPS IN THE SARGASSO SEA OFF BERMUDA 1
Author(s) -
Beers John R.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1966.11.4.0520
Subject(s) - zooplankton , dry weight , sargasso sea , wet weight , nitrogen , phosphorus , zoology , oceanography , carbon fibers , composition (language) , chemistry , environmental chemistry , biology , ecology , geology , botany , mathematics , linguistics , philosophy , organic chemistry , endocrinology , composite number , algorithm
A one year study was made of the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbohydrate content of the major zooplankton groups from the surface to 500 m in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda. Carbon content ranged from the yearly average of 41.6% of the dry weight of copepods to as low as 7.2% in the siphonophores. Nitrogen varied from approximately 9–11% of the dry weight of organisms with a low wet to dry weight ratio; 1–4% in the watery forms; and 6–8% in intermediate groups such as the chaetognaths. Average yearly phosphorus levels ranged from 1.48% of the dry weight in the euphausids‐mysids to 0.14% in siphonophores. Carbohydrate content of all groups was low, averaging less than 1% of the dry weight.