Organic content and biomass of abyssal holothuroids (Echinodermata) from the Bay of Biscay

✍ Scribed by M. Sibuet; J. M. Lawrence

• Book ID: 104756004
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 389 KB
• Volume: 65
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00397078

✦ Synopsis

The levels of ash, lipid, carbohydrate, protein and calories in the body walls of 3 abyssal holothuroids of the Bay of Biscay [Benthogone rosea Koehler, Paelopatides gigantea (Verrill) and Psychropotes longicauda Theel] are similar to those found in the body walls of shallow-water holothuroids. The biomass of abyssal holothuroids in terms of calories comprises an important fraction of the total biomass in the deep sea; at 2 000 m depth, the holothuroids correspond to one-sixth of the total biomass. However, the numerical and caloric densities of abyssal holothuroids are 4 orders of magnitude less than those of shallow-water holothuroids, although the sizes and caloric contents of individuals are of similar magnitude.