Abstract
The seas occupy the greater part (70%) of the earth's surface, but their total net primary production is less than that of the land. Depletion of nutrients in the lighted surface waters is responsible for low productivities of most of the open ocean; higher productivities occur in coastal waters and areas of upwelling. A recent estimate of total production for the marine plankon is 50×10 9 metric tons of dry matter per year; the total with benthic production may be 55×109 tons/year. The value for the plankton may be too low; there are persistent problems in measuring productivity with the radiocarbon technique. Because harvestable fish populations are concentrated in a limited area of more productive waters, where they are subject to overharvest and pollution effects, major increase in food production from the seas is not likely.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, G. C. (1969). Subsurface chlorophyll maximum in the northeast Pacific Ocean.Limnol. Oceanog. 14:386–391.
Bunt, J. S. (1963). Diatoms of Antarctic sea ice as agents of primary production.Nature 199:1255–1257.
Bunt, J. S. (1965). Measurements of photosynthesis and respiration in a marine diatom with the mass spectrometer and with carbon-14.Nature 207:1373–1375.
Bunt, J. S. (1968). Some characteristics of microalgae isolated from Antarctic sea ice.Antarctic Res. Ser. 11:1–14.
Bunt, J. S., and Lee, C. C. (1970). Seasonal primary production in Antarctic sea ice at McMurdo Sound in 1967.J. Mar. Res. 28:304–320.
Dugdale, R. C. (1967). Nutrient limitation in the sea: Dynamics identification, and significance.Limnol. Oceanog. 12:685–695.
Eppley, R. W., Rogers, J. N., and McCarthy, J. J. (1969). Half-saturation constants for uptake of nitrate and ammonium by marine phytoplankton.Limnol. Oceanog. 14:912–920.
FAO (1971).Yearbook of Fishery Statistics, Vol. 30:Catches and Landings, 1970, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Jackson, W. A., and Volk, R. J. (1970). Photorespiration.Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 21:385.
Koblentz-Mishke, O. J., Volkovinsky, V. V., and Kabanova, J. G. (1970). Plankton primary production of the world ocean. In Wooster, W. S. (ed.),Scientific Exploration of the South Pacific, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., pp. 183–193.
McAllister, D. C. (1970). Zooplankton rations, phytoplankton mortality and the estimation of marine production. In Steele, J. H. (ed.),Marine Food Chains, University of California, Berkeley and Los Angeles, pp. 419–457.
Provasoli, L. (1963). Organic regulation of phytoplankton fertility. In Hill, M. N. (ed.),The Sea, Vol. 2, Interscience, New York, pp. 165–219.
Provasoli, L., McLaughlin, J. J. A., and Droop, M. R. (1957). The development of artificial media for marine algae.Arch. Mikrobiol. 25:392–428.
Rabinowitch, E. I. (1945).Photosynthesis, Vol. I, Interscience, New York.
Redfield, A. C., Ketchum, B. H., and Richards, F. A. (1963). The influence of organisms on the composition of sea water. In Hill, M. N. (ed.),The Sea, Vol. 2, Interscience, New York, pp. 76–77.
Russell-Hunter, W. D. (1970).Aquatic Productivity, Macmillan, London.
Ryther, J. H. (1956). Interrelation between photosynthesis and respiration in the marine flagellate,Dunalielle euchlora. Nature 178:861–862.
Ryther, J. H. (1959). Potential productivity of the sea.Science 130: 602–608.
Ryther, J. H. (1963). Geographic variations in productivity. In Hill, M. N. (ed.),The Sea, Vol. 2, Interscience, New York, pp. 347–380.
Ryther, J. H. (1969). Photosynthesis and fish production in the sea.Science 166:72–76.
Ryther, J. H., and Dunstan, W. M. (1971). Nitrogen, phosphorus and eutrophication in the coastal marine environment.Science 171:1008–1013.
Sieburth, J. M., and Jensen, A. (1970). Studies on algal substances in the sea. II. the formation of gelb stoff by exudate of Phaeophyta.J. Expl. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 3:275–289.
Smayda, T. J. (1970). The suspension and sinking of phytoplankton in the sea.Oceanog. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 8:353–414.
Steemann Nielsen, E. (1952). The use of radioactive carbon (14C) for measuring organic production in the sea.J. Conseille Permanente Internat. Exploration de Mer 18:117–140.
Steemann Nielsen, E., and Hansen, V. K. (1959). Measurements with the carbon-14 technique of the respiration rates in natural populations of phytoplankton.Deep-Sea Res. 5:222–233.
Steemann Nielsen, E., and Jensen, E. A. (1957). Primary oceanic production. The autotrophic production of organic matter in the oceans.Galathea Rep. 1:49–135.
Strickland, J. D. H. (1965). Production of organic matter in the primary stages of the marine food chain. In Riley, J. P., and Skirrow, G. (eds.),Chemical Oceanography, Vol. 1, Academic Press, New York, pp. 477–610.
Strickland, J. D. H., and Parsons, T. R. (1965). A Manual of Sea Water Analysis, Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Publication No. 125.
Thomas, J. P. (1971). Release of dissolved organic matter for natural populations of marine phytoplankton.Mar. Biol. 11:311–323.
Vishniac, W. (1971). Limits of microbial productivity in the ocean. In Hughes, D. E., and Rose, A. H. (eds.), Microbes and Biological Productivity.Symp. Soc. Gen. Microbiol. 21:355–366.
Wassink, K. E. C. (1959). Efficiency of light energy conversion in plant growth.Plant Physiol. 34:356–361.
Westlake, D. F. (1963). Comparisons of plant productivity.Biol. Rev. 38:385–425.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bunt, J.S. Primary production: Marine ecosystems. Hum Ecol 1, 333–345 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536730
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01536730