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Diets of leaf litter-associated invertebrates in three tropical streams

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2012

Ana M. Chará-Serna ,
Julián D. Chará ,
María del Carmen Zúñiga ,
Richard G. Pearson  and
Luz Boyero
Ana M. Chará-Serna*
Affiliation:
Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, CIPAV, Carrera 25 No. 6-62, Cali, Colombia Departamento de Biología, Grupo de Investigaciones Entomológicas, Universidad del Valle, Apartado Aéreo 25360, Cali, Colombia
Julián D. Chará
Affiliation:
Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, CIPAV, Carrera 25 No. 6-62, Cali, Colombia Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios en Biodiversidad y Recursos Genéticos, CIEBREG, P.O.B. 97, Pereira, Colombia
María del Carmen Zúñiga
Affiliation:
Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria, CIPAV, Carrera 25 No. 6-62, Cali, Colombia Departamento de Biología, Grupo de Investigaciones Entomológicas, Universidad del Valle, Apartado Aéreo 25360, Cali, Colombia
Richard G. Pearson
Affiliation:
School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
Luz Boyero
Affiliation:
School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia Wetland Ecology Department, Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Avda Americo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
*
*Corresponding author: ana@cipav.org.co
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Abstract

Shredders play a major ecological role in temperate streams, but their numerical importance is highly variable within the tropics. Detailed studies on the diets of tropical stream invertebrates are advisable to be able to better describe and understand this variation. Here, we examined the diets of invertebrates collected from the leaf litter of three tropical streams in Colombia, using gut content analysis. Fine and coarse particulate organic matter were the main food resources for invertebrates, which could be divided into four main dietary groups: predators, shredders, specialist collectors and generalist collectors. While the specialist collectors were the most numerically abundant group (54%), shredder biomass accounted for 63% of total invertebrate biomass, suggesting that shredders play a significant ecological role in the study streams. We describe the diets of 12 out of 47 taxa that were previously unknown, which indicates that knowledge about the feeding ecology of tropical stream invertebrates is still incipient.

Keywords

Aquatic invertebratesgut contentsshreddersdietary groupstrophic guilds
Type
Research Article
Information
Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , 2012 , pp. 139 - 144
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2012

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