The kelp Saccharina japonica is one of the most important mariculture species in China. To predict kelp growth and provide a component for a general multitrophic ecosystem model, a dynamic individual growth model was developed to evaluate environmental effects on kelp growth. This model was calibrated and validated using data from 2 annual mariculture cycles

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Particle size distribution, organic content and the sinking velocity of bio-deposits of abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino were evaluated. The abalone was divided into three size classes according to shell length: Group B: 68.8 AE 2.8 mm, group M: 56.1 AE 2.3 mm and group S: 42.4 AE 2.8 mm. The faecal pellets had an amorphous shape, with a cross-sectional area ranging from 0.01 to 2.64 mm 2 . The mean cross-sectional area varied among the size classes: 0.59 (B), 0.21 (M) and 0.12 (S) mm 2 . The bio-deposit organic content was similar among the groups (B: 18.3 AE 1.1%; M: 19.9 AE 0.9%; S: 19.3 AE 1.0%). Sinking velocity ranged from 0.5 to 2.3 cm s À1 . Larger abalone tended to have larger and thus faster-sinking faecal pellets. The median sinking velocity for groups B, M and S was 0.9, 0.5 and 0.7 cm s À1 respectively. The mean daily production rates for groups S, M and B were 2.8 AE 1.2, 3.4 AE 1.3 and 4.3 AE 1.8 g ind. À1 respectively. Bio-deposit production rate estimated to be between 134.4 and 206.4 mg m À2 day À1 in the bay. Our results suggest that the pellet size was within the appropriate size range for filter-feeding bivalves.