COLONIZATION OF FRESH AND DRIED LEAF-LITTER BY LOTIC MACROINVERTEBRATES

Citation
Mo. Gessner et M. Dobson, COLONIZATION OF FRESH AND DRIED LEAF-LITTER BY LOTIC MACROINVERTEBRATES, Archiv fur Hydrobiologie, 127(2), 1993, pp. 141-149
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Marine & Freshwater Biology",Limnology
Journal title
ISSN journal
00039136
Volume
127
Issue
2
Year of publication
1993
Pages
141 - 149
Database
ISI
SICI code
0003-9136(1993)127:2<141:COFADL>2.0.ZU;2-D
Abstract
The macroinvertebrate colonisation of fresh and air-dried alder leaves was compared in a third order stream using standardised leaf packs. R esults were analysed in terms of numbers and biomass of invertebrates, at three levels of resolution: total invertebrates, the shredder func tional feeding group, and a selected taxon, the stonefly Protonemura, which was the dominant shredder in the system. Analyses of variance an d covariance revealed no significant differences between fresh and dri ed litter in either densities or biomass of the associated fauna at an y of the three levels examined. The taxonomic composition and the dive rsity of animal assemblages were also similar between treatments. It i s thus concluded that colonisation patterns of lotic macroinvertebrate s on leaf litter are unaffected by artificial drying of leaves.