Abstract
Macrofauna living on subtidal rocks reefs in southern California excrete ammonium, a potentially important nutrient for benthic algae. Ammonium excretion rates of eleven macroinvertebrate and five fish taxa were determined from a total of 324 in situ incubations conducted between October 1984 and August 1985 at 14 to 17 m depths off Santa Catalina Island, California. Total ammonium excretion ranged from over 100 μmol h-1 by the kelp bass Paralabrax clathratus to less than 0.1 μmol h-1 by the gastropod Conus californicus. Weight-specific ammonium excretion generally ranged from 0.5 to 4 μmol g-1 h-1 in invertebrates and from 3 to 7 μmol g-1 h-1 in fishes. Intraspecific excretion rates varied substantially. Coefficient of variation of excretion rates were higher than reported for laboratory studies and multiple regression indicated that 50 to 90% of the variation in ammonium excretion rates of five species studied in detail could not be explained by the combined variation in dry weight, water temperature, time of day, and incubation dates. The excretion data, along with estimates of population densities and size-frequency distributions, indicate that benthic macrofauna release a total of 25 to 30 μmol NH +4 m-2 h-1 both day and night. The species that generally make the largest contributions are a gobiid fish (Lythrypnus dalli), followed by three gastropods (Astraea undosa, Tegula eiseni, and T. aureotincta) and a sea urchin (Centrostephanus coronatus). The amount of ammonium excreted by these macrofauna on rocky reefs is insignificant compared to our previously published data on the nighttime excretion of blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis), a pomacentrid fish that feeds in the water column during the day and shelters on the reef at night. Including blacksmiths, we estimate that the amount released by rocky-reef macrofauna at night is >280 μmol m-2 h-1, a rate that is similar to that for many other marine communities. Additional studies are required to determine if benthic algae utilize ammonium released by these macrofauna, especially at night.
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Communicated by P. C. Schroeder, Pullman
Contribution No. 58 of the Ocean Studies Institute; Contribution No. 123 of the Catalina Marine Science Center
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Bray, R.N., Miller, A.C., Johnson, S. et al. Ammonium excretion by macroinvertebrates and fishes on a subtidal rocky reef in southern California. Marine Biology 100, 21–30 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392951
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392951