TABLE 1. MEAN ANNUAL STANDING CROP AND MEAN DAILY PRODUCTION 



Trophic level Production Standing Crop 

 mg C/M2/dav gm C/M^ 



Primary producers 



Phytoplankton, LIS c o o o o « <. » 530 8 



Phytoplankton, Ocean .« .«<.<. <. 250 (avg) 



Spartina salt marsh (growing season) 810 



Nova Scotia seaweed beds <> . o c . 180 

 Grasslands, moist forests, shallow 



l.cLK.6S oo»o»oo«oeo«o OH'LI 



Herbivores 



Zooplankton, LIS .« o ....<. . 27 1 



Benthic invertebrates, LIS . « o <, 36 5 



Carnivores 



Benthic finfish, LIS « . o . « o <> 0<,5 Oo2 



Intensive fish culture „ „ . ^ ^ „ 35 



World marine fishery 0.01 



recorded for Long Island Sound, and most of them are coastal temperate species 

 as opposed to oceanic species or warm-water species. Diatoms and dinof lagellates 

 are the most abundant floral forms in the Sound. The dominant diatoms are 

 Skeletonema costatum , Thalassiosira nordenskioeldii ., and Thalassionema nitz- 

 schioides . The dominant dinof lagellates are Peridinium trochoideum , Prorocen- 

 trum triestinum , and Prorocentrum scutellum (_3) . A very large population of 

 microf lagellates, Chlorella- like organisms, are also extremely abundant in 

 the Sound. Most of the major phytoplankton organisms common to the Sound are 

 also common to New England waters, and Skeletonema , which is most important 

 in the Sound, is also important in other North Atlantic coastal waters. Four 

 species have been identified as more characteristic of Long Island Sound: 

 Schroederella delicatula , a diatom, and the dinof lagallates Exuviaella apora , 

 Goniaulax minima, and Prorocentrum triestinum . 



(2) At the herbivore level, secondary production and standing crop 

 drop more rapidly than is typical of most estuarine areas, but are still fairly 

 high. Utilization of the high primary production capacity of the Sound by the 

 zooplankton that are present is somewhat inefficient (4). While the zooplankton 

 are abundant and productive, their diversity is lower than in most other estuaries 

 of North Atlantic coastal waters. The most common zooplanton in the Sound are 

 the copepods, particularly the Acartia sp. It appears that the most abundant 

 zooplankton organisms are not as efficient in their feeding, and may consume 

 only about one-quarter of the primary production available to them. Zooplankton 

 organisms are in direct competition with benthic filter feeders and, to a 

 certain degree, detrital feeders.. The water column also contains a high level 



