Aspects of Estimating Zooplankton Production from Phytoplankton Production

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Abstract
Primary productivity and zooplankton data from Ocean Station P are used to compare estimates of phytoplankton and herbivore production calculated on the assumption of continuous grazing by the animals with estimates obtained on the assumption of three different types of nocturnal grazing. Effective plant production, that corrected for the effects of grazing on the size of the phytoplankton stock and hence on the magnitude of the plant respiratory loss, was less than the measured production and was least under the assumption of continuous grazing. The small differences in effective production resulting from the choice of different grazing schemes resulted in large differences in estimates of secondary production. The relative effect of assuming different grazing schemes on the estimate of secondary production varied markedly with zooplankton respiration and with the phytoplankton growth rate.

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