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Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002
in Biogeochemistry
BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATE BODY STOICHIOMETRY: TAXONOMIC PATTERNS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR GROWTH AND CONSUMER-DRIVEN NUTRIENT RECYCLING.
M.A. Evans-White and G.A. Lamberti. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556-0369
Increasing evidence suggests that consumer growth can be limited by certain nutrients in their food and that consumers can play important roles in recycling nutrients in aquatic systems. A stoichiometric approach has been used to gain understanding about these processes, but most research has focused on pelagic rather than benthic consumers. We collected benthic macroinvertebrates from various streams and lakes in Indiana and Michigan to determine the level of taxonomic variation in benthic macroinvertebrate body carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations and ratios. We found significant taxonomic differences (p<0.0001) among families in percent C, percent N, C:N, C:P, and N:P and among orders in percent P. All significant differences among families within the same order were found in holometabolous insects (Coleoptera, Diptera, and Trichoptera). Crustaceans had significantly lower percent C, percent N, N:P, C:P and a higher percent P than many insects. These results indicate that crustacean growth is potentially P-limited because many taxa rely heavily on high N:P food sources such as algae and detritus. Furthermore, crustaceans may recycle P back to dissolved P pools more slowly than other benthic macroinvertebrates.
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