The Influence of Leaf Type on Carbon and Nitrogen Assimilation by Aquatic Invertebrate Communities: A New Perspective on
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The Influence of Leaf Type on Carbon and Nitrogen Assimilation by Aquatic Invertebrate Communities: A New Perspective on Trophic Efficiency Adam C. Siders,1,2,4* Zacchaeus G. Compson,3 Bruce A. Hungate,1,2 Paul Dijkstra,1,2 George W. Koch,1,2 and Jane C. Marks1,2 1
Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA; 3Centre for Environmental Genomics Applications (CEGA), 102-14 International Pl, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador A1A 5A1, Canada; 4Present address: Present Address: Soil and Water Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA
ABSTRACT Despite abounding evidence that leaf litter traits can predict decomposition rate, the way these traits influence trophic efficiency and element transfer to higher trophic levels is not resolved. Here, we used litter labeled with 13C and 15N stable isotopes to trace fluxes of litter C and N from four leaf types to freshwater invertebrate communities. We measured absolute (mg C or N) and relative assimilation (percentage of litter C or N incorporated into invertebrate biomass relative to C and N lost during decomposition). Four patterns emerged: (1) Invertebrate communities assimilated more C and N from slowly decomposing litter than communities feeding on rapidly decomposing litter; (2) absolute assimilation of both C and N in leaf packs was
positively correlated with the relative biomass of invertebrate taxa in leaf packs; (3) Chironomidae larvae, which colonize packs in the early decomposition stages, assimilated the most C and N by the end of the 35-day experiment; and (4) most taxa, spanning five functional feeding groups (collector– gatherers, shredders, collector–filterers, scrapers, and predators), showed similar patterns in both absolute and relative assimilation across leaf types. These results challenge traditional views of litter quality by demonstrating that trophic efficiency is negatively associated with decomposition rate across these four leaf types. Key words: Carbon; Nitrogen; Stable isotopes; Leaf litter; Decomposition; Invertebrates; Assimilation; Trophic efficiency.
Received 7 May 2020; accepted 17 August 2020 Electronic supplementary material: The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-020-00550-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Author Contributions ACS, ZGC, BAH, PD, GWK, and JCM designed the study. ACS and ZGC grew and labeled the leaves and conducted the field experiment. ACS wrote the first draft of the manuscript and ZGC, BAH, GWK, and JCM made substantial contributions to revising the manuscript. *Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected]
HIGHLIGHTS We traced elements from litter to invertebrates with labeled leaves (13C and 15N).
A. C. Siders and others Element assimilation was higher on slowly decomposing litter types. Assimilation of litter C and N was consistent across diverse i
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