Leaf‐Litter Mixtures Affect Breakdown and Macroinvertebrate Colonization Rates in a Stream Ecosystem

Abelho, Manuela

doi:10.1002/iroh.200811159

Cited by 16 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…The leaf breakdown rates for the two species were similar to those found for other species in tropical regions (Gonç alves et al, 2006;Chara et al, 2007;Moretti et al, 2007) but lower compared to studies in temperate zones (Braatne et al, 2007;Baudoin et al, 2008;Abelho, 2009). The highest breakdown rates found in streams of temperate ecosystems may be related to lower concentrations of recalcitrant compounds in the detritus (Ardón et al, 2009).…”

Section: Breakdown Rates and Characteristics Of Leaf Detritussupporting

confidence: 63%

Small leaf breakdown in a Savannah headwater stream

et al. 2015

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Please cite this article in press as: Alvim, E.A.C.C., et al., Small leaf breakdown in a Savannah headwater stream. Limnologica (2014), http://dx. a b s t r a c tThe chemical nature and nutritional quality of leaves influence microbial colonization, microbial activity and consequently leaf breakdown rates. In the present study, we compared the decomposition of Baccharis concinna and Baccharis dracunculifolia leaves and the influence of leaf quality on the microbial activity during the decomposition process. This investigation was conducted in a Brazilian savanna headwater stream with a riparian zone composed predominantly of herbaceous and shrubs. The breakdown coefficient was higher in B. dracunculifolia than in B. concinna; for both species, increases in leaf mass were observed after the 60th day. The secondary compounds were quickly leached in the first seven days, but the structural compounds persisted longer and served as the main carbon source for the detritus-associated microorganisms. The highest values of ergosterol were observed in the final stages of leaf breakdown and indicated the difficulty of colonization on the detritus; these values were related to the increase in leaf mass. The ATP content increased without corresponding increase in ergosterol content, suggesting a biofilm formation during leaf breakdown. These results indicated that the total microbial biomass can assimilate organic compounds released from detritus by the enzymatic action of fungi, demonstrating the importance of this group for releasing the energy stored in small leaves.

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Section: Breakdown Rates and Characteristics Of Leaf Detritussupporting

confidence: 63%

Small leaf breakdown in a Savannah headwater stream

et al. 2015

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“…The breakdown rates of alder (k = −0.0430 day −1 ) and poplar (k = −0.0220 day −1 ) decomposing in the stream were fast according to the classification of Petersen and Cummins (1974). Decomposition rate of alder was similar to rates previously obtained in the same stream (Abelho, 2009;Gonçalves and Canhoto, 2009) and faster than most values reported in literature for the same or similar leaf species (e.g. Abelho, 2001;Canhoto and Graça, 1996).…”

Section: Aldersupporting

confidence: 81%

The effect of mixtures on colonisation of leaf litter decomposing in a stream and at its riparian zone

Abelho

2014

Web Ecol.

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Abstract. The effect of mixing litter on decomposition and colonisation has been the focus of many studies carried independently in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Those studies are carried out in different regions, use different experimental protocols and methodologies for the assessment of additive or non-additive effects, and the conclusions on the effect of mixtures vary accordingly. In this study I tested the hypothesis, via a short-term decomposition experiment, that, when using the same experimental protocol, mixtures have similar additive effects on decomposition and associated biota in a stream and at its riparian zone. The effect of mixing litter was assessed by comparing values in mixtures with the average of single species, alder and poplar (method 1); comparing the value of a species in mixture with the value of that species alone (method 2); and by a graphical analysis of the average difference between observed and expected values and the 95% confidence intervals (method 3). Method 1 was the most conservative, detecting non-additive effects on macroinvertebrate abundance only; method 2 detected non-additive effects on both dry mass remaining and ergosterol, with differential responses of the leaf species and the habitat; and method 3 detected non-additive effects on all variables except ergosterol and percentage detritivore abundance and also identified different responses of the leaves exposed in the terrestrial and the aquatic habitats. These results show that (i) the methodology used to detect the effects of mixtures deeply influences the results obtained, and may partially explain the diversity of responses available in literature; and (ii) the effect of mixtures may differ in the stream and at the riparian area. However, the findings of the present work should be assessed in a larger-scale experiment in order to generalise the effects of mixing litter on terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

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“…In this study, we used mixed litter bags [39] suggested that these differ in the decomposition rate in relation to litter bags of unique species, but still found that there is a similarity in colonization patterns of macroinvertebrates. However, Cortes et al (1997) [40] concluded that, in streams, the food availability is high and there is no particular reason for the macroinvertebrates aggregate in litter bags.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spacial and Temporal Variation of Degradation of Organic Matter by Benthic Macroinvertebrates

Ana¹,

Vieira²

2013

JEP

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Leaf litter input from riparian landscapes has been identified as both a major energy flow to stream ecosystems and as a food source for stream macroinvertebrates. In this study the benthic macroinvertebrate community was used to evaluate the decomposition of organic matter in river systems. The aim of this work was to study the decomposition of organic matter using the benthic macroinvertebrate colonization. The research was developed over five months (January 2011 to May 2011) in four different sites, distributed along the River Ferreira terminal area, northern Portugal. A litter bag experiment was used to examine the role of macroinvertebrate communities in the processing of organic material on the river. Litter bags were placed in the water and collected every 7, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days. In litter bags was observed a high abundance of Oligochaeta and Chironomidae, which are characterized by being detritivorous-herbivores and filtering collectors, respectively, indicating the benthic macroinvertebrate more involved on the decomposition of organic matter. These results contributed to increase current knowledge about benthic macroinvertebrate communities and may serve as incentive for future research works.

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Leaf‐Litter Mixtures Affect Breakdown and Macroinvertebrate Colonization Rates in a Stream Ecosystem

Cited by 16 publications

References 50 publications

Small leaf breakdown in a Savannah headwater stream

Small leaf breakdown in a Savannah headwater stream

The effect of mixtures on colonisation of leaf litter decomposing in a stream and at its riparian zone

Spacial and Temporal Variation of Degradation of Organic Matter by Benthic Macroinvertebrates

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