CHITIN PRODUCTION BY AMPELISCA (AMPHIPODA) POPULATIONS FROM A FINE SAND COMMUNITY IN THE BAY OF MORLAIX (ENGLISH-CHANNEL)

We measured chitin biomass and production in five species of Ampelisca (Crustacea Amphipoda) living on a fine sand community at 'Pierre Noir e Station' in the Bay of Morlaix (Western English Channel, Brittany, F rance). Taking into account the maxima of their mean total production, the annual chitin production was estimated at between 600 and 900 mg m(-2) yr(-1). These values are close to those of the chitin production of pioneering benthic communities growing on naked substrates in the coastal waters of Calvi bay (Mediterranean, Corsica) between 7 to 28 m eter depth, and of the zooplankton of that same area.