Benthic Organism Biomass Size Spectra in Huanghe River Adjacent Waters

Biomass size spectra of benthic organisms(BBS) and normalized biomass size spectra(NBBS) were constructed for the first time in four stations in Huanghe River adjacent waters.BBS found in this study displayed the characteristic meiofauna-macrofauna trough and also showed bimodality within meiofauna size ranges,which was usually due to free living marine nematode and other meiofauna groups.The distribution of normalized biomass by size was linear(log2-log2 scale) at all stations.The slope of the NBSS ranged from-0.859 to-0.664,the intercept ranged from 15.035 to 16.331,with no significant differences among the stations.The slopes and intercepts were similar to that of east China Sea and southern Yellow Sea,indicating the similar trophic conditions and total biomass.Secondary production of benthos was predicted by NBSS model.The secondary production of macrofauna was 4.509 g DW·m-2·a-1,and that of meiofauna was 2.208 g DW·m-2·a-1.A comparison of NBSS model with other empirical models suggested that the results were much same.NBSS model can estimate benthic secondary production accurately.