Leaf decomposition and invertebrate colonization responses to manipulated litter quantity in streams

Tiegs, Scott D.; Peter, Franziska; Robinson, Christopher T.; Uehlinger, Urs; Gessner, Mark O.

doi:10.1899/07-054.1

Cited by 65 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…On the other hand, a doubling in atmospheric CO 2 concentration may lead to increased terrestrial primary production and decreased litter quality (e.g., due to higher investment in structural compounds) (Stiling and Cornelissen 2007), which may compensate for faster litter decomposition due to increased temperature. Larger amounts of benthic litter may lead to a decrease in litter decomposition rate due to lower invertebrate density in the increased amount of submerged litter (Tiegs et al 2008). The decrease in litter quality (increase in the carbon/nutrient ratio) may lower decomposition rates due to lower colonization and activity of microbes and detritivores, which prefer soft, nutrient rich litter (Gessner and Chauvet 1994;Graça and Cressa 2010;Ferreira et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of experimental and seasonal warming on litter decomposition in a temperate stream

Ferreira

Canhoto

2013

Aquat Sci

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Litter decomposition, a fundamental ecosystem process in woodland streams, is potentially affected by the predicted increase in water temperature. Here, we assessed the effects of experimental and seasonal warming on oak litter decomposition and on the relative contributions of microbes and invertebrates to this process. Experimental warming (*3°C) stimulated litter decomposition in the coldest, but not in the warmest, months. This may be attributed to (1) higher temperature sensitivity of decomposition at lower ambient temperature due to temperature limitation of enzymatic activity, (2) higher relative temperature increase in winter than in warmer months, (3) existence of a previous warming period in winter, and (4) stronger stimulation of the activity of detritivores by warming in winter due to the prevalence of earlier (smaller) instars than in warmer months. The low response of litter decomposition to warming may have been due to the low nutrient availability in the study stream. The 30-day litter decomposition was stimulated over the seasonal gradient (monthly mean temperature: 6-16°C), which may be attributed to a stimulation of metabolic activities by warming and to changes in detritivore life history over the seasons. The stimulation of litter decomposition with temperature suggests that the rate of CO 2 release from freshwaters will increase under global warming. However, invertebrate-driven litter decomposition was more responsive to warming than microbial-driven litter decomposition, suggesting that a larger fraction of litter carbon may be converted into secondary production and stored in the system for longer periods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of experimental and seasonal warming on litter decomposition in a temperate stream

Ferreira

Canhoto

2013

Aquat Sci

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“…Through-flow may entrain organic matter from perched wetlands and deeper soils of the valley sides, which is discharged at points of upwelling groundwater (Boissier and Fontvieille, 1995). Organic matter is an important energy source (Buffam et al, 2001), and during periods of low resource availability macroinvertebrates may aggregate upon isolated patches of high organic matter concentration (Tiegs et al, 2008) such as those provided by DFS deep .…”

Section: Influence Of Groundwater Physicochemical Variability On Macrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, groundwater may be influential through the distribution of organic matter, which can be entrained by through-flow and discharged into surface waters (Boissier and Fontvieille, 1995). Organic matter is an important energy source for macroinvertebrates, which may aggregate upon patches of the resource in otherwise resource-depleted environments (Tiegs et al, 2008). Flow permanence, determined by local topography, groundwater source, and flow pathways, has also been established as a key driving factor in macroinvertebrate community composition (McCabe, 1998) with intermittent and ephemeral streams typically supporting lower species diversity (Wood et al, 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Flow Dynamics of Groundwater-Fed Streams and Their Ecological Significance in a Glacierized Catchment

Crossman

Bradley

Boomer

et al. 2011

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…This apparent contradiction could be explained by the high abundance of leaf detritus in the benthos. As observed by Tiegs et al (2008), shredders tend to aggregate in leaf-bags only when benthic leaf resources are scarce or depleted. Conversely, the proportion of scrapers is higher in LN.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

A modification of the leaf-nets method for sampling benthic invertebrates in spring habitats

et al. 2017

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The full ecological potential of spring habitats remains relatively unexplored mostly because of the lack of standardized sampling procedures and difficulties to collect representative biological samples, especially in small-sized springs. Recent studies on sampling methodologies in spring habitats indicated that a modified Surber net with a reduced frame area, reliably describes the structure and composition of spring communities. This method, however, is very invasive and may severely impact the spring, especially when a large number of samples is required. The paper presents a new quantitative method (leaf-nets) for sampling crenic invertebrates which combines a rather high efficiency with negligible impacts on spring habitat structure and biota. The effectiveness of the new methodology was tested in a medium-size rheocrene spring in Central Apennine, where spring assemblages were sampled in parallel with a modified Surber net and with the new method. Taxa richness and density were higher in the Surber net, while no between-method differences were recorded for the number of insect taxa and Simpson diversity. Furthermore, the overall functional organization of Surber net and leaf-nets assemblages was very similar. The new method sampled only 25% of the individuals cumulatively collected, but 75% of the total richness, with a good representation of the structure and the functional organization of spring assemblages. In comparison with the Surber net, the negligible loss of information of the new method is highly compensated by its minor invasivity, lower impacts on spring microhabitats and invertebrate populations and by its higher versatility. Leaf-nets could also be used to assess leafdetritus breakdown in springs, thus allowing a better ecological characterization of these ecosystems.

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Leaf decomposition and invertebrate colonization responses to manipulated litter quantity in streams

Cited by 65 publications

References 41 publications

Effect of experimental and seasonal warming on litter decomposition in a temperate stream

Effect of experimental and seasonal warming on litter decomposition in a temperate stream

Water Flow Dynamics of Groundwater-Fed Streams and Their Ecological Significance in a Glacierized Catchment

A modification of the leaf-nets method for sampling benthic invertebrates in spring habitats

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