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Habitat structure, trophic structure and ecosystem function: interactive effects in a bromeliad–insect community

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Abstract

Although previous studies have shown that ecosystem functions are affected by either trophic structure or habitat structure, there has been little consideration of their combined effects. Such interactions may be particularly important in systems where habitat and trophic structure covary. I use the aquatic insects in bromeliads to examine the combined effects of trophic structure and habitat structure on a key ecosystem function: detrital processing. In Costa Rican bromeliads, trophic structure naturally covaries with both habitat complexity and habitat size, precluding any observational analysis of interactions between factors. I therefore designed mesocosms that allowed each factor to be manipulated separately. Increases in mesocosm complexity reduced predator (damselfly larva) efficiency, resulting in high detritivore abundances, indirectly increasing detrital processing rates. However, increased complexity also directly reduced the per capita foraging efficiency of the detritivores. Over short time periods, these trends effectively cancelled each other out in terms of detrital processing. Over longer time periods, more complex patterns emerged. Increases in mesocosm size also reduced both predator efficiency and detritivore efficiency, leading to no net effect on detrital processing. In many systems, ecosystem functions may be impacted by strong interactions between trophic structure and habitat structure, cautioning against examining either effect in isolation.

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Acknowledgments

Volunteer assistance by Kate Edwards, Michael Melnychuk, Jennifer Passmore and Jessica Ware was vital to this project. Personnel of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste provided logistical support, particular thanks to Róger Blanco, María Marta Chavarría, Calixto Moraga, Petrona Rios, and Carlos Zuñiga. John Epler, Jon Gelhaus, Dennis Paulson and Daryl Suen aided with identifications. The manuscript was improved by the careful reading of Jacqueline Ngai, Jordan Rosenfeld, Thomas Miller and several anonymous reviewers. Funding was provided by the Biodiversity Research Centre, UBC, and by NSERC grants to W.E. Neill and D.S.

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  1. Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Blvd., Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

    Diane S. Srivastava

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  1. Diane S. Srivastava
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Correspondence to Diane S. Srivastava.

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Communicated by Thomas Miller

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Srivastava, D.S. Habitat structure, trophic structure and ecosystem function: interactive effects in a bromeliad–insect community. Oecologia 149, 493–504 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0467-3

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