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Trophic relationships among terrestrial molluscs in a Hawaiian rain forest: analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2011

Wallace M. Meyer III  and
Norine W. Yeung
Wallace M. Meyer III*
Affiliation:
Center for Conservation Research and Training, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 408, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
Norine W. Yeung
Affiliation:
Center for Conservation Research and Training, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii, 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 408, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Current address: Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, 1140 E. South Campus Dr., Forbes 410, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. Email: wmm@email.arizona.edu.
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Extract

Soil and adjacent leaf-litter environments support a diverse decomposer fauna. This has led to what is known as ‘the enigma of the soil fauna’, or the question of how it is possible for such large numbers of species to coexist without obvious biotic mechanisms, such as competitive exclusion, limiting coexistence (Anderson 1975). Dietary specialization or effective partitioning of food resources could be a mechanism to avoid niche overlap among sympatric soil/litter species (Chahartaghi et al. 2005, Jennings & Barkham 1975). However, unravelling the complexities of trophic relationships can be difficult, especially in soil/leaf-litter habitats where both consumers and prey are small, diverse and often unidentifiable (Scheu & Falca 2000). As such, the trophic relationships among species in these habitats typically remain unresolved.

Keywords

coexistencefeeding guildsHawaiiintroducedinvasivesnailsslugstrophic structure
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 27 , Issue 4 , July 2011 , pp. 441 - 445
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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References

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