Caloric Content of the Standing Crop of Benthic and Epibenthic Invertebrates of St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia

Abstract

The benthos of St. Margaret's Bay at depths of 28–62 m was sampled quantitatively during the summer and the caloric contents of the common invertebrates determined. The shrimps, amphipods, and the polychaete Lumbrinereis with caloric contents between 1000 and 1300 cal/g wet weight had the highest caloric content of those tested. The mean caloric content of the standing crop was 76 kcal/m2 with the highest values occurring where the sand and silt–clay fractions of the sediment were nearly equal and the lowest where either sand or silt–clay predominated. Annelids and echinoderms together accounted for more than three-quarters of the caloric content of the standing crop.