Herbivore growth responses to nutrient mobilization by detritivores
Abstract
Past research suggests that the detritus pathway, or brown trophic pathway, is key to the availability of nutrients in nutrient-limited aquatic ecosystems. The interplay between the green and brown paths in aquatic food webs is relatively understudied, yet it is likely that the productivity of nutrient-limited aquatic systems relies on the bottom-up effects of nutrients released during detritus processing. The goal of my study was to clarify the role of detritivorous caddisfly larvae (Limnephilus externus), as mobilizers of detritus-bound nutrients in montane ponds? Specifically, I wanted to understand the role that these caddisflies play as join regulators the brown (detritus) trophic path (via conversion of detrital to animal production) in these ponds and of the green (algal) trophic path via the mobilization of limiting nutrients for algae? In asking these questions I hypothesized that caddisfly larvae are key to the ecological function of wetland ecosystems because they (1) liberate detritus-bound nutrients that stimulate algal growth, and (2) increase algal growth and stimulate a bottom-up effect on herbivore growth. I tested these hypotheses by manipulating detritivore density and the presence (algal growth responses to nutrient liberation) and absence (control for algal growth responses) in field laboratory microcosms. Results of my experiment revealed (1) a positive correlation between larvae density and herbivore growth rate, suggesting a bottom-up effect on growth rate; (2) that L. externus may be key to nutrient availability in nutrient-limited aquatic systems and directly tied to function and productivity, which emphasizes the importance of single-species roles in trophic ecology; and (3) that the green trophic pathway is likely dependent on the brown trophic pathway. 1
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References (17)
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