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Interactions between a detrital resource pulse and a detritivore community

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Abstract

Detritivore communities influence the decomposition of detrital resources in virtually all natural systems. Conversely, detrital resources can also have considerable bottom-up effects on detritivore communities. While many investigations have examined detritivory and decomposition processes, few have considered interactions between detritivores and detritus as concurrent processes in the same system, or in the context of natural detrital pulses. In many systems, resource pulses contribute substantial detrital inputs to belowground systems. These detrital pulses may influence interactions between the detritivore community and detrital decomposition. I conducted field experiments to investigate interactions between detrital resource pulses of periodical cicada (Magicicada spp.) carcasses and scavenging detritivorous macroarthropods. Cicada litterfall pulses influenced several broad groups in the macroarthropod community, including relatively specialized necrophilous taxa and relatively generalized detritivores, omnivores and predators. Conversely, detritivore activity increased the rate of cicada carcass decomposition by 4,082% compared to caged control carcasses. These results suggest that interactions between pulses of cicada detritus and the detritivore community influence both the persistence of ephemeral detrital resources, and the distribution, abundance and behavior of detritivore populations.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to R. Karban, J. Stamps, T. Schoener, J. Rosenheim, P. Ward, D. Strong, R. Kimsey, R. Bullard, J. Bastow, and D. Gruner for helpful comments and stimulating ideas. I also thank T. Bruce, T. Payne, M. Westbrook, E. Leonard, D. Carr, T. Roulston, R. Canterbury, D. Evans, A. Hester, M. Evans, S. Kreitman, L. Rieger, Kilmer Middle School, and Poe Middle School for assistance in the field. Thanks to M. Watnik and N. Willits for assistance with statistical analyses. I especially thank K. Will (UCB) and the Bohart Museum of Entomology (UCD) for help with several taxonomic identifications. The Jefferson National Forest (USDA Forest Service), Mountain Lake Biological Station (University of Virginia), Blandy Experimental Farm (University of Virginia), Concord University (Athens, WV), and Stonebridge Farm provided invaluable field site access and assistance. This research was supported by the Center for Population Biology (UCD), the UCD Entomology Department, the UCD Jastro-Shields program, the John Muir Institute (UCD), Sigma Xi, and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship program.

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  1. Center for Population Biology, Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Louie H. Yang

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Yang, L.H. Interactions between a detrital resource pulse and a detritivore community. Oecologia 147, 522–532 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0276-0

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