The Distribution of Major Organic Nutrients 209 



TABLE 3 



Biochemical Analyses — Voldenfjord and North Sea Samlpes 

 Core Depth (ft) Protein (mg/g) Carbohydrate ( ng/g) Free lipids {ppm) 



All figures are on a dry weight basis. 



geological) are necessary for a total evaluation of the meaning 

 of the observed trends. Also, determination of the molecular com- 

 position of the various extracts must be linked with further micro- 

 biological studies. Howe\er, the present data do point out that 

 before one can assume that "natural" conditions exist in a partic- 

 ular experiment involving organisms from marine sediments, 

 strict attention must be given to the true nutrient levels in the 

 vicinity of the particular microbial community under study. This 

 is illustrated by Table 4, which shows the concentrations ( in gm/ 

 L of wet sediment ) of proteins, carbohydrates, and ether-extract- 

 able lipids for several depths in each of the cores described. These 

 figures have been obtained from the original dry weight data by 

 calculations taking into consideration the per cent moisture of 

 the sample and the density of the dry minerals. The ratios of 

 protein to carbohydrate, protein to lipid, and lipid to carbohy- 

 drate are also shown. For comparison, figures calculated from 

 the results of Shabarova (6) are also given. 



