We measured chitin biomass and production in five species of Ampelisca (Crustacea Amphipoda) living on a fine sand community at ‘Pierre Noire Station’ in the Bay of Morlaix (Western English Channel, Brittany, France). Taking into account the maxima of their mean total production, the annual chitin production was estimated at between 600 and 900 mg m−2 yr−1. These values are close to those of the chitin production of pioneering benthic communities growing on naked substrates in the coastal waters of Calvi bay (Mediterranean, Corsica) between 7 to 28 meter depth, and of the zooplankton of that same area. |
