Summary
Leaf-eating invertebrates selectively ingest leaf areas rich in fungal cells. The effect of this process on coincident and cumulative species diversity (species numbers and evenness) of the fungi was studied on 3 substrates (oak leaves, larch and spruce needles) in 2 hardwater and 2 softwater streams. Cumulative species number of colonizing fungi follows the equation S=k·A z(A=area below decay curve of the substrate, k=substrate-specific constant, Z=0.47). Higher feeding activity means faster weight loss of the substrate which leads to lower species richness of the fungi. The opposite is true for early successional stages on larch needles. Evenness of the fungi (distribution of individuals among species) is negatively correlated with feeding intensity by invertebrates, as measured by increased decay rates. The overall effect of leaf-eating invertebrates on aquatic hyphomycetes resembles that of potent competitors preempting substrate otherwise used by a late successional tail of relatively rare fungi.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Addicott JF (1974) Predation and prey community structure: an experimental study of the effect of mosquito larvae on the protozoan communities of pitcher plants. Ecology 55:475–492
Anderson NH, Sedell JR (1979) Detritus processing by macroinvertebrates in stream ecosystems. Ann Rev Entomol 24:351–377
Bärlocher F, Kendrick B (1980) The role of aquatic hyphomycetes in the trophic structure of streams. In: The Fungal Community, its organisation and role in the ecosystem Wicklow DT and Carrol GC (eds), Marcel Dekker Inc New York. In press
Bärlocher F, Rosset J (1980) Aquatic hyphomycete spora of two Black Forest and two Swiss Jura streams. Trans Brit Mycol Soc, In press
Bärlocher F, Kendrick B, Michaelides J (1978) Colonization and conditioning of Pinus resinosa needles by aquatic hyphomycetes. Arch Hydrobiol 81:462–474
Caswell H (1978) Predator-mediated coexistence: a nonequilibrium model. Am Nat 112:127–154
Cummins KW, Klug MJ (1979) Feeding ecology of stream invertebrates. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 10:147–172
Darwin C (1859) The origin of species. John Murray London
Dayton PK (1973) Two cases of resource partitioning in an intertidal community: making the right prediction for the wrong reason. Am Nat 107:662–670
Ingold CT (1975) Guide to aquatic hyphomycetes. Freshwater Biological Association, Scientific Publication No 30
Lubchenco J (1978) Plant species diversity in a marine intertidal community: importance of herbivore food preference and algal competitive abilities. Am Nat 112:23–39
MacArthur RH, Wilson EO (1967) The theory of island biogeography Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey
Minshall GW, Minshall JN (1978) Further evidence on the role of chemical factors in determining the distribution of benthic invertebrates in the River Duddon. Arch Hydrobiol 83:324–355
Sanders PF, Anderson JM (1979) Colonization of wood blocks by aquatic hyphomycetes. Trans Brit Mycol Soc 73:103–107
Yodzis P (1978) Competition for space and the structure of ecological communities. Lecture notes in biomathematics, No 25. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bärlocher, F. Leaf-eating invertebrates as competitors of aquatic hyphomycetes. Oecologia 47, 303–306 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398521
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398521