Temporal biomass variability and production/biomass relationships of seagrass communities

Data on blomass vanablllty and productlon/biomass ratlos of seagrass communltles were analysed to descrlbe the relationship between the trophic (I e pnmary production) and structural (I e b~omass) roles of manne submerged macrophytes The analyses revealed that most ( > 7 0 % ) of the b~omass varlablllty appears to reflect seasonal responses and that the extent of varlabllity IS constrained by the latltudlnal posltlon of the plant stands, those at lower latltudes sustaining a more unlform blomass throughout the year Annual product~on/biomass ratlos are qulte varlable although tend to be greater (average = 4 6) than those for freshwate~ submerged plants, and tend to lncrease at lower latltudes Thls trend IS not attributable to greater dally product~on/b~omass r a t ~o s for troplcal and subtropical communities but appears to be a consequence of thelr small blomass seasonallty