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Primary production, standing stock, and export of organic matter in a Mohave Desert thermal stream 1
Author(s) -
Naiman Robert J.
Publication year - 1976
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.1976.21.1.0060
Subject(s) - detritus , organic matter , environmental science , decomposer , algae , ecology , environmental chemistry , ecosystem , biology , chemistry
The water of a thermal artesian stream (Tecopa Bore) in the Mohave Desert near Death Valley, California, issues from the ground at 47.5°C and cools 8–12°C before leaving a study area 300 m long. Growth occurs year round because of the high water temperature. Pupfish are the dominant herbivores; acquatic invertebrates are rare. The 11,065 kcal m −2 annual input of energy to the biological system is totally accounted for by autochthonous primary production. About 718 kcal m −2 of organic matter is stored within the system in the form of algal mats and detritus and has a turnover time of about 23 days. The bulk of the annual primary production (81%) is channeled into respiration and decomposers; 9% is lost as dissolved organic carbon and 4% as drift of particulate organic matter. Pupfish ( Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae ) feed on algae and detritus, ingesting 17% (1,878 kcal m −2 yr −1 ) of the annual primary production, of which 119 kcal m −2 yr −1 is deposited in growth.