Macroinvertebrates in reed litter

Stem and leaf litter of Phragmites australis were enclosed in litter bags a nd submerged in a vigorous and a die-back reed stand of Lake Ferto/Neusiedl er See (Hungary). Species composition and individual number of the macroinv ertebrates within the litter baas were recorded between April, 1996 and Jul y, 1998. Thirty one taxa were found during the two and a half year experime nt. Considerable differences were observed in the macroinvertebrate communi ty of the two sampling sites. Chironomidae (collector) were predominant at site 5 (vigorous), while Isopoda and Gastropoda (shredder, grazer-scraper) were the predominate taxa at site 3 (die-back). The individual number and t he number per gram dry mass were higher in the leaf litter bap than in the stem litter bags. Several taxa were present with considerably higher indivi dual number in either the stem or the leaf litter bags.