Validity of zooplankton biomass estimates and energy equivalent in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

Analysis of the published data on zooplankton biomass in the Indian Ocean reveals that due to omission of data from highly productive neritic Waters, the projected values of 519 x 10 6 tons become underestimated by 91 x 10 6 tons. Similarly, as deduced from the data on biochemical composition and energy content, it is evident that zooplankton of the Indian Ocean contains on an average 2.7% organic carbon, rather than the widely quoted value of 6.5%. The biomass production in terms of organic carbon estimated to be 3.5 and 12.9 x 106tons for shelf and offshore regions respectively in the Indian Ocean thus stands corrected