On the Nutrition and Metabolism of Zooplankton VII. Seasonal Survey of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Excretion by Calanus in the Clyde Sea-Area

Abstract

In a recent study (Butler, Corner & Marshall, 1969) it was found that the excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus in soluble form by Calanus finmarchicus caught at Garroch Head in the Clyde sea-area was significantly higher in spring when plant food was plentiful, than in autumn when plant food was in relatively short supply. The present survey has extended this earlier study to include more detailed data at all times of the year, particular attention being paid to the spring diatom increase of 1969 when plant food in the sea near Garroch Head rose above the level which Beklemishev (1962) regards as inducing superfluous feeding, a wasteful process partially involving the inefficient assimilation of foodstuffs (see ‘Discussion’, p. 549).