Does the benthic paradox tell us something about surplus production models?

Abstract

It is paradoxical that the taxonomic composition and diversity of the benthic infauna of continental shelves is similar from tropical to polar seas, while the associated demersal fish communities are less diverse and taxonomically different at high latitudes. Further, benthic invertebrates at high latitudes deal with the unreliable seasonality of plankton production by brooding their eggs and larvae instead of releasing them into the plankton, while only exceptional fish make the same response. These facts, and the notoriously variable reproductive success of cold-water fish, suggest that reproduction may be the critical biological process for marine organisms at high latitudes. Some fish perhaps exploit the potential longevity of mature individuals to bridge long gaps between years of successful reproduction, and cannibalism on young fish of weak year-classes by survivors of a strong year-class may support sufficient longevity for this to occur. Surplus production models ignore this possibility.