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Shredder colonization and decomposition of green and senescent leaves during summer in a headwater stream in northern Japan

  • Original Article
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Ecological Research

Abstract

We conducted a decomposition experiment using green and senescent maple and alder leaves in a coastal headwater stream in Hokkaido, northern Japan, during June and July 2000. We estimated whether shredder colonization on the leaves and leaf breakdown differed between green and senescent leaves during the experimental period. Late-instar Lepidostoma complicatum (Trichoptera) and Sternomoera rhyaca (Amphipoda) were the predominant shredder taxa among the macroinvertebrates that colonized litterbags. There was no significant difference in shredder colonization between green and senescent leaves although we found a significant difference between maple and alder leaves. The colonization patterns of large individuals of L. complicatum and S. rhyaca differed from those of small individuals. All decomposition coefficients of green and senescent leaves were high. During the experiment, decomposition was significantly faster in maple than in alder leaves, although no significant difference was found between green and senescent leaves. However, the fragmented nitrogen portion was higher in green leaves than in senescent leaves during the experiment. Higher nitrogen release (2–2.5 times more) as particulate organic matter in green than in senescent leaves indicates that green leaves may be a potentially valuable food resource for other macroinvertebrate collector–gatherer species.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Akiko Nagasaka for technical support, Futoshi Nakamura, Shunichi Kikuchi, colleagues of laboratory of erosion control for their efficient cooperation, and two anonymous reviewers for kind comments and significant suggestions.

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Author notes

  1. Kaori Kochi

    Present address: Hokkaido Institute of Technology, 7-15-4-1 Maeda , Teine-ku, Sapporo 006-8585, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Management and Conservation, Division of Environmental Resources, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

    Kaori Kochi

  2. Hokkaido Institute of Technology, Sapporo, Japan

    Seiji Yanai

Authors
  1. Kaori Kochi
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  2. Seiji Yanai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaori Kochi.

Appendix

Appendix

Appendix Macroinvertebrate taxa collected from the periphery of the riffle in the study stream (30×30 cm2 sample area) in June 2000 (n=5)
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Kochi, K., Yanai, S. Shredder colonization and decomposition of green and senescent leaves during summer in a headwater stream in northern Japan. Ecol Res 21, 544–550 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0149-y

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