Kamilla Ramos

Universidade de Brasília

Author Statistics

Papers

Citation

H-Index

i-10 index

Research Trends

Author Order

Document Type

Co-Authors

Isabella Torres

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

José Francisco Gonçalves

Universidade de Brasília

Renan de Souza Rezende

Community University of Chapecó Region - Unochapecó

Alan M. Tonin

Universidade de Brasília

Gustavo Figueiredo Marques Leite

Universidade de Brasília

Cooperative Institutions

Universidade de Brasília

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

National Institute of Amazonian Research

Laboratoire de Dynamique des Fluides

Infineon Technologies (Germany)

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Community University of Chapecó Region - Unochapecó

Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Educação, Cultura e Ação Comunitária

Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum

Author Statistics

Papers

Citation

H-Index

i-10 index

Research Field

Effects of litter size and quality on processing by decomposers in a tropical savannah stream

Biotropica (2018)

Renan de Souza Rezende Gustavo Figueiredo Marques Leite Kamilla Ramos Isabella Torres Alan M. Tonin

Abstract Litter fragment size and quality can have profound effects on ecosystem functioning and global biogeochemical cycling due to differential utilization by decomposers. Here we study the influence of these factors on decomposers from two guilds found in a tropical savannah stream: invertebrate shredders of the genus Phylloicus and microorganisms. Containers (16 × 16 × 12 cm, ~ 3L) with either Phylloicus (cases removed; N = 16) or stream water containing microorganisms ( N = 16) were supplied with litter from the species Inga laurina, Maprounea guianensis, and Richeria grandis , and cut into disks of 18.7, 13.2, and 8.1 mm in diameter (3 sizes × 3 species = 9 disks per container). Relative decomposition was greater for smaller leaf disks and disks of higher quality in microbial‐only cultures. Phylloicus preferentially harvested large fragments for case building, also preferring the leaves of M. guianensis and R. grandis , likely due increased robustness for case formation. Microbial decomposition resulted in ~20% litter mass loss compared to 30% in Phylloicus (of which 8% was used for case building and 24% for food). Thus, changes to input litter size, such as a decrease in leaf size after drought, may alter microbial decomposition and potentially affect shredder populations by limiting the availability of casing material.

Decomposer

Plant litter

Biogeochemical Cycle

Litter

Detritivore

10.1111/btp.12547

Cite

Citations (16)