Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1912 — SEA AS A NUTRIENT FLUID [ARTICLE]

SEA AS A NUTRIENT FLUID

English Naturalist Convinced That Value of Ocean’s Water Has Not Been Understood. Dr. W. J. Dakin brought forward at the British association some interesting corroborations of Putter’s theory that sea or fresh water is more or less a nutrient fluid, there being piore organic carbon present in solution in the water than there is in the multitudinous plankton that swarms there. Dr. I)akin has tried to estimate the amount of carbon and oxygen re? quired by certain aquatic animals per day to cover tl)e loss due to metabolism. On the basis of this estimate, which is probably very approximate, a sponge 60 grammes in weight would require to filter several thousand times its own volume of water per hour in order to obtain sufficient food, —"an altogether unthinkable piece of work.” A big jelly fish would require over seven millions of nauplius larvae per day. “It is..quite impossible for such large quantities to be caught, and equally strange that remains of the creatures are so rarely found if they have been captured as food.” Another striking fact, or result of calculations at all events, is that the “producers” (the plant-plankton) are insufficient for the “consumers” (tho animal plankton). High alpine lakes, for instance, in which there is outstanding production of animal plankton, are almost deserts as far as plantplankton is concerned. What do these alpine crustaceans and dotiftrs feed on? Putter’s theory is the only 1 solution of the riddle. We come to the idea that the Water in lake and sea is food as. well as drink. There is bread in the waters—according to the ingenious showing of Dr. Dakin. i ■ - ‘