Food Web and Trophic Basis of Production of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community of a Subtropical Stream (Yangtze River Basin, Middle China)

Wen, Fang; Jiang, Jing; Deng, Shuai; Li, Xiaoyu; Yan, Yunjun

doi:10.1002/iroh.201011234

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition to shading, frequent high discharge events in tropical streams like Río Guabal result in significant scouring of algal resources (Salas & Dudgeon, ). Studies in a Chinese subtropical river found percentages of autochthonous material in macroinvertebrate diets similar to those we observed in Río Guabal, and attributed both canopy cover and scouring to lower overall consumption of autochthonous resources (Wen et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Energy flow and the trophic basis of macroinvertebrate and amphibian production in a neotropical stream food web

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Despite the typically high taxonomic and functional diversity of tropical habitats, little is known about the roles of individual consumers in their ecosystem structure and function. We studied the trophic basis of production in a tropical headwater stream by identifying major sources of energy, measuring energy flow through consumers and characterising interactions among trophic levels and functional groups. We examined gut contents of 18 dominant macroinvertebrate and two tadpole taxa and used these data, along with previously published estimates of secondary production, to quantify food‐web structure and energy flow pathways. We also examined the prevalence of omnivory and patterns of resource consumption across seasons and habitats. Non‐algal biofilm, a heterogeneous polysaccharidic matrix, was the most utilised food resource in the stream. Contrary to some studies of Old World tropical stream food webs, detrital energy sources were consumed at relatively high rates and contributed significantly to overall energy flow, although much of this was attributable to a single shredder taxon. Algal consumption rates were similar to values reported for temperate streams and were highest during the dry season. Omnivory was prevalent across all functional groups, particularly predators, suggesting traditional functional and trophic assignments based on temperate regions may not be appropriate for tropical systems. Seasonal patterns of resource consumption appeared linked to hydrological disturbance. This is the first study to provide quantitative estimates of energy flow through a neotropical stream food web. Extirpation and extinction rates in tropical freshwater habitats are high; our study provides baseline information for conservation and management of remaining systems, and for quantifying the consequences of further losses of biodiversity such as ongoing amphibian declines.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Energy flow and the trophic basis of macroinvertebrate and amphibian production in a neotropical stream food web

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Wen et al () studied macroinvertebrate food webs in the Tanqigou Stream, a 2nd order stream in the Yangtze River basin. Similarly, amorphous detritus was also the major food source, consumed at a rate of 16.88 g m −2 yr −1 by the macroinvertebrate assemblage, comprising 81% of the total consumption.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seasonality is an indirect factor that influences macroinvertebrate communities via integrated changes of discharge, food availability, temperature and other variables (Leung & Dudgeon, 2011;Silveira, Buss, Nessimian, & Baptista, 2006;Wen et al, 2010). We postulated that the proportion of each food type found in the guts of macroinvertebrates would vary from season to season, and that the seasonal variation patterns might differ between stream orders.…”

Section: Temporal Patterns Of Ingestionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, a number of studies have addressed macroinvertebrates in both lacustrine (Liu, Wang, & Liang, ) and riverine (Yan & Li, , ) ecosystems in the Yangtze River basin. However, these studies were spatially confined, for example, to headwater streams (Yan, Jiang, & Wen, ; Wen, Jiang, Deng, Li, & Yan, ), or have focused on single groups of species such as mayflies (Deng, Ye, Wang, Li, & Yan, ) or caddisflies (Jiang et al, ). The results of these studies were far from comprehensive regarding the functioning of the entire river ecosystem.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Trophic dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities of a subtropical river in China

Wang

Deng

Qiu

et al. 2017

Internat Rev Hydrobiol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study was the first attempt to resolve both spatial and temporal patterns of macroinvertebrate trophic dynamics in a Chinese subtropical river continuum, the Shengli River, from 1st to 4th order. Gut content analysis was adopted to assess the trophic basis and consumption rates of communities. Furthermore, annual energy flow food webs were constructed. Trophic basis analyses showed that 34–79% of the diet of macrozoobenthos in the Shengli River and its tributaries was amorphous detritus. Leaf litter was the second most important food source, followed by animal material. Filamentous algae, diatoms, and fungi served only as subsidies, contributing no more than 5% to total consumption. The macroinvertebrates in 1st and 3rd order streams appeared to show seasonal consumption patterns of different food types, while the communities in 2nd and 4th order streams had the same diet composition throughout the year. Total consumption rates of the communities increased from 1st to 3rd order streams, and declined in 4th order streams. The energy flow food web of 1st order streams was simpler than those of higher‐order streams. With increasing stream order, the food webs increased in complexity until 3rd order, and became simpler again in 4th order streams.

show abstract

“…Premke et al (2010) found that littoral benthic fauna are mainly supported by benthic algae in low-dissolved organic carbon (DOC) lakes and by phytoplankton and allochthonous organic C in high-DOC lakes, as a result of light absorbance and energy supply by allochthonous organic C. An investiagation of the Tanqigou Stream (Yangtze River basin) showed that the stream was mainly a detritus-based system, with its functionality being highly dependent on allochthonous input of organic matter. Benthic algae, fungi and vascular plant detritus, were also important food resources for macroinvertebrates (Wen et al, 2010). On the other hand, the dominant primary consumers (chironomids) in aquatic food webs in the Canadian High Arctic were supported primarily by benthic algae.…”

Section: Competition With and Facilitation Bymentioning

confidence: 99%

Substratum‐Associated Microbiota

Liess¹,

Francoeur²

2011

Water Environment Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Food Web and Trophic Basis of Production of the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community of a Subtropical Stream (Yangtze River Basin, Middle China)

Cited by 5 publications

References 46 publications

Energy flow and the trophic basis of macroinvertebrate and amphibian production in a neotropical stream food web

Energy flow and the trophic basis of macroinvertebrate and amphibian production in a neotropical stream food web

Trophic dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities of a subtropical river in China

Substratum‐Associated Microbiota

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About