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Congregations of the leaf-shredding insect Lepidostoma togatum mediate exceptionally rapid mass loss from leaf litter in Nova Scotia rivers

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Abstract

In shallow, rocky-bottomed river systems in Nova Scotia, Canada, decomposition rates of autumn-fallen red maple (Acer rubrum) and speckled alder (Alnus incana) leaf litter were determined in spring and early summer using litter bags. In most shaded upstream tributaries, decomposition followed a typical exponential curve (k = −0.013 to −0.032 day−1). In unshaded, downstream reaches, and sometimes in low-order tributaries, decomposition was often exceptionally rapid (2–5% day−1) and followed a linear pattern, associated with dense congregations of the caddisfly Lepidostoma togatum. Linear mass loss persisted until litter bags were empty, after 35–50 days. Colonization of litter bags by L. togatum was advanced after 1 week, and peak densities (40–120 animals/bag) could be reached in 2–3 weeks. In a feeding experiment, alder litter in fine mesh litter bags containing 30 L. togatum larvae lost ~2.1% mass day−1, compared with only 0.1% day−1 without L. togatum. The L. togatum congregations were a distinctly seasonal phenomenon, beginning in early June and ending in mid-July when the last of the larvae (one or two cohorts) pupated. Severe resource limitation among detritivores in these degraded river systems apparently leads to dense colonization of added litter and extremely fast, shredder-mediated decomposition.

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Acknowledgements

We extend thanks to M. Hines, T. Holden, C. Walsh and L.A. Dort for valuable assistance in the laboratory and field, to Y. Lin for DNA extraction, to D. Garbary and C. Bishop (Biology Dept., St. Francis Xavier University) for helpful comments on an earlier draft and to the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and St. Francis Xavier University for funding support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Ecology Division, St. Andrews Biological Station, 531 Brandy Cove Road, St. Andrews, NB, E5B 2L9, Canada

    Irene V. Andrushchenko

  2. Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, P.O. Box 5000, Antigonish, NS, B2G 2W5, Canada

    Barry R. Taylor & Erin Wilson

  3. Department of Biology, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6A 5B7, Canada

    Jantina Toxopeus

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  1. Irene V. Andrushchenko
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Correspondence to Barry R. Taylor.

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Andrushchenko, I.V., Taylor, B.R., Toxopeus, J. et al. Congregations of the leaf-shredding insect Lepidostoma togatum mediate exceptionally rapid mass loss from leaf litter in Nova Scotia rivers. Hydrobiologia 788, 245–265 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-3001-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-3001-6

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