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Detritivory: stoichiometry of a neglected trophic level

  • Special Feature
  • Stoichiometry in Ecology
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Previous syntheses have identified the key roles that phylogeny, body size, and trophic level play in determining arthropod stoichiometry. To date, however, detritivores have been largely omitted from such syntheses, despite their importance in nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and food web interactions. Here, we report on a compiled database of the allometry and nutritional stoichiometry (N and P) of detritivorous arthropods. Overall, both N and P content for detritivores varied among major phylogenetic lineages. Detritivore N content was similar to the N content of herbivores, but below that of predators. By contrast, detritivore P content was independent of trophic level. Contrary to previous reports, neither nutrient varied with body size. This analysis places detritivores in the context of related herbivores and predators, and as such, sets the stage for future investigations into the causes and consequences of elemental (mis)matches between detritivores and their detrital resources.

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Acknowledgments

WFF wishes to thank A. Satake and the other members of the Program Committee for inviting him to speak at the 2007 meeting of the Japanese Ecological Society where these results were first presented. This paper reflects, in part, the efforts of the ‘Spatial Stoichiometry’ working group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, a center funded by the National Science Foundation, the University of California, and the State of California. This paper is also, in part, a product of NSF Award DBI 0548366.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Holly M. Martinson & Katie Schneider

  2. Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    James Gilbert & William F. Fagan

  3. Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Jessica E. Hines

  4. Department of Botany, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Peter A. Hambäck

Authors
  1. Holly M. Martinson
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  2. Katie Schneider
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  3. James Gilbert
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  4. Jessica E. Hines
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  5. Peter A. Hambäck
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  6. William F. Fagan
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Correspondence to William F. Fagan.

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Holly M. Martinson and Katie Schneider are co-first author.

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Martinson, H.M., Schneider, K., Gilbert, J. et al. Detritivory: stoichiometry of a neglected trophic level. Ecol Res 23, 487–491 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0471-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0471-7

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