Disturbance, resource supply, and food-web architecture in streams

Citation
Cr. Townsend et al., Disturbance, resource supply, and food-web architecture in streams, ECOL LETT, 1(3), 1998, pp. 200-209
Citations number
38
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology
Journal title
ECOLOGY LETTERS
ISSN journal
1461-023X → ACNP
Volume
1
Issue
3
Year of publication
1998
Pages
200 - 209
Database
ISI
SICI code
1461-023X(199811)1:3<200:DRSAFA>2.0.ZU;2-C
Abstract
We studied food webs comprising fish, macroinvertebrates, and algae (identi fied to species or morphospecies) in small streams using a consistent metho dology at the same spatial and temporal scales. Our aim was to test apriori hypotheses derived from dynamic-demographic and energetics models concerni ng the effects of disturbance and resource availability on food-web attribu tes. The regime of bed disturbance affecting the organisms in the webs was measured in 10 streams. We also derived measures of the supply of resources for animals in the webs in terms of algal primary productivity and detritu s standing crop. Both web size and number of links per species were signifi cantly negatively related to mean intensity of bed disturbance. Mean chain length had a significant positive relationship with algal primary productiv ity but not disturbance, No food-web attribute was related to detritus stan ding crop.