Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries
The activity of the litter-feeding macrofauna affects litter decomposition rates at the local scale, and their preference for particular litter types is mediated by litter traits. Environmental changes such as invasion by exotic plants may change the characteristics of the litter at a local scale, w...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sociedade Brasileira de Carcinologia
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Nauplius |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-64972014000200004&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1818749988221485056 |
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| author | Aline Ferreira Quadros Martin Zimmer Paula Beatriz Araujo Jair Gilberto Kray |
| author_facet | Aline Ferreira Quadros Martin Zimmer Paula Beatriz Araujo Jair Gilberto Kray |
| author_sort | Aline Ferreira Quadros |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The activity of the litter-feeding macrofauna affects litter decomposition rates at the local scale, and their preference for particular litter types is mediated by litter traits. Environmental changes such as invasion by exotic plants may change the characteristics of the litter at a local scale, with consequences to ecosystem processes. Here we evaluated the feeding preferences of four detritivores (terrestrial isopods) from two biogeographic regions (neotropical and palearctic), offering them native or non-native litter in cafeteria experiments. Our results show that isopods from different geographical regions exhibit essentially the same food preference, irrespective of whether or not they previously had encountered the litter tested. Combining the isopods' preference ranks with the principal component analysis of nine litter traits, we show that preference increases with increasing nitrogen and calcium contents and decreases with increasing toughness, C:N ratio and thickness, irrespective of the geographical origin of both litter and detritivores. We conclude that the palatability of a non-native litter to the native detritivore community can be predicted from their respective litter traits and thus, native detritivores will feed on a particular non-native litter type as likely as do detritivores in the native range of the plant. As the combination of traits that indicates palatability to the isopods also indicates litter decomposability, it could be possible to predict ecosystem responses in terms of litter decomposition rates upon changes in litter composition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T04:12:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8879046b9504ccdac4df2510b4f09f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2358-2936 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T04:12:31Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Carcinologia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nauplius |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8879046b9504ccdac4df2510b4f09f92022-12-21T21:21:26ZengSociedade Brasileira de CarcinologiaNauplius2358-29362014-12-01222103111Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundariesAline Ferreira Quadros0Martin Zimmer1Paula Beatriz Araujo2Jair Gilberto Kray3Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulChristian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, KielUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulThe activity of the litter-feeding macrofauna affects litter decomposition rates at the local scale, and their preference for particular litter types is mediated by litter traits. Environmental changes such as invasion by exotic plants may change the characteristics of the litter at a local scale, with consequences to ecosystem processes. Here we evaluated the feeding preferences of four detritivores (terrestrial isopods) from two biogeographic regions (neotropical and palearctic), offering them native or non-native litter in cafeteria experiments. Our results show that isopods from different geographical regions exhibit essentially the same food preference, irrespective of whether or not they previously had encountered the litter tested. Combining the isopods' preference ranks with the principal component analysis of nine litter traits, we show that preference increases with increasing nitrogen and calcium contents and decreases with increasing toughness, C:N ratio and thickness, irrespective of the geographical origin of both litter and detritivores. We conclude that the palatability of a non-native litter to the native detritivore community can be predicted from their respective litter traits and thus, native detritivores will feed on a particular non-native litter type as likely as do detritivores in the native range of the plant. As the combination of traits that indicates palatability to the isopods also indicates litter decomposability, it could be possible to predict ecosystem responses in terms of litter decomposition rates upon changes in litter composition.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-64972014000200004&tlng=enDetritivoryfeeding preferenceslitter traitsterrestrial isopods |
| spellingShingle | Aline Ferreira Quadros Martin Zimmer Paula Beatriz Araujo Jair Gilberto Kray Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries Nauplius Detritivory feeding preferences litter traits terrestrial isopods |
| title | Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries |
| title_full | Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries |
| title_fullStr | Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries |
| title_short | Litter traits and palatability to detritivores: a case study across bio-geographical boundaries |
| title_sort | litter traits and palatability to detritivores a case study across bio geographical boundaries |
| topic | Detritivory feeding preferences litter traits terrestrial isopods |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-64972014000200004&tlng=en |
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