ANNUAL ABUNDANCE AND BIOMASS OF ALORICATE CILIATES IN TROPICAL NERITIC WATERS OF KINGSTON, JAMAICA

The daily abundance of aloricate ciliates at Lime Cay, Jamaica, a shallow neritic site, ranged from 29 to 118 x 10(6) m-2 (0.97 to 3.93 x 10(6) m-3) between November 1985 and November 1986. Biomass was converted to kilojoules (1 kcal = 4.1855 kJ) assuming 42% carbon, 20.15 kJ (g dry wt)-1, and 20% cell shrinkage. Biomass ranged from 0.40 to 3.00 kJ m-2 (13.3 to 100 J m-3; 0.28 to 2.08-mu-g C l-1) with an annual mean of 1.11 kJ m-2 (36.8 J m-3; 0.764-mu-g C l-1). Nanociliates (< 20-mu-m equivalent spherical diameter, ESD) dominated abundance, but microciliates (> 20-mu-m ESD) dominated biomass. Strombidium, Strobilidium, Tontonia and Laboea species were conspicuous taxa. Annual production estimates of the aloricate assemblage, based on literature growth rates, ranged from 404 kJ m-2 yr-1 (37 J m-3 d-1) to 1614 kJ m-2 yr-1 (147 J m-3 d-1). A compromise estimate of 689 kJ m-2 yr-1 (i.e., 63 J m-3 d-1) is comparable to other estimates from tropical and subtropical regions. A model of annual energy flow through 11 planktonic compartments suggests the total ciliate assemblage (aloricates and tintinnines) to be as productive as metazoan herbivores and metazoan carnivores.