A meta‐analysis of the effects of detritus on primary producers and consumers in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems

Abstract

Detritus is a central feature in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the ubiquity of detritus, ecologists have largely ignored its role in influencing food web structure. We used a meta‐analytic approach to ask three questions about how detritus affects food web structure in a wide variety of ecosystems. First, what is the effect strength of detritus on primary producers, detritivores, herbivores, and predators? Second, what functional role does detritus serve for consumers (energetic, habitat, or both)? Third, how does the effect of detritus on consumers vary between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems? We found that detritus has strong positive effects on primary producers and consumers in a wide range of ecosystems types. Detritus has a positive direct effect on detritivores by providing both an energetic resource and habitat (refuge from predators). Detritus has equally strong positive effects on herbivores and predators, driven by a positive direct effect of habitat. Detritus has positive effects on consumers in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with 1.7 times stronger effects in terrestrial ecosystems. These results suggest that detritus has strong effects on food‐web structure in a variety of ecosystem types. Even the portion of the food web that is linked most strongly to living plant tissue as its primary energy source is strongly positively affected.

Physiological characterization of aerobic culturable bacteria in the intestine of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

“…Detritus is a source of nutrient for detritus feeders and bacteria are the main decomposers that degrade these materials (Hagen et al, 2012). Therefore, we analyzed polysaccharide degradation of the isolates.…”

Diversity and function of aerobic culturable bacteria in the intestine of the sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota

“…Detritus is composed of organic materials, which are the nutrient source for detritus feeders (Hagen et al, 2012). The majority comprise recalcitrant polysaccharides, which in many cases can be degraded only by microorganisms.…”

A categorization of recent network approaches to analyse trophic interactions

“…However, detritus has been shown to have a strong effect on the network structure in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (Hagen et al . ) and is a central component of food webs (Abarca‐Arenas et al . ).…”