Differences in productivities between the Great Australian Bight and the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, in summer

Abstract

Phytoplankton standing crop (chlorophyll a) and primary productivity were recorded, and zooplankton biomass was estimated in the two large bays of Australia, the Great Australian Bight on the south coast (December, 1965) and the Gulf of Carpentaria on the north coast (December, 1968). In the Gulf of Carpentaria, the phytoplankton standing crop (average, 27.3 mg chlorophyll a m-2) and primary productivity (average, 133.1 mg C m-2 h-1), as well as zooplankton biomass (average, 305.3 mg wet weight m-3) are much higher than in the Great Australian Bight (12.1 mg chlorophyll a m-2, 18.2 mg C m-2 h-1, 7.1 mg wet weight m-3, respectively). The unexpectedly low productivity values in the Great Australian Bight are attributable to environmental conditions of this bay, which obtains neither replenishment of nutrients from the land nor receives upwelling of deep water.