1986 年 36 巻 3 号 p. 169-187
Among the groups of secondary producers, Chironomidae were the most productive, both in standing and running waters. A regression analysis was performed on the reported secondary productiondata for 39 herbivorous and detritivorous chironomid species in 37 standing waters. Annual mean biomass (Ba) was positively related to the maximum body weight of fourth-instar larvae (W4max), P/B ratio was positively related to annual mean bottom temperature (Tmean) and inversely related to W4max. Production (P) decreased with increasing mean water depth (zmean). The latter relationship was also true for herbivorous and detritivorous zoobenthos. Secondary production of hervivores and detritivores including zooplankton and zoobenthos was ca. 10% of primary production in lakes, Zoobenthos production became comparable to that of zooplankton in lakes where primary production exceeded ca. 10000 kJ m-2y-1. Emerging biomass (E) of chironomids amounted to 0.1-1.6% of the sum of primary production and allochthonous organic matter. E/P value lay within 0.2-0.5 and tended to decrease with increasing P. Collection of emerging insects is recommended as a valid means of estimating species production. Annual chironomid production may be estimated by multiplying species annual emerging biomass by a factor of 2.8. The role of secondary producers in the nutrient cycling in a ecosystem is discussed.