The_Affect_Of_Litter_Bag_Mesh_Size_On_The_Macroinvertebrate

The Affect Of Litter Bag Mesh Size On The Macroinvertebrate Colonization Rate And Community Structure In Litter Material From Populous Balsamifera In Sibbald Lake, Alberta Introduction The importance of allochthonous material (litter from terrestrial plants which falls into streams or lakes) to aquatic invertebrates has been investigated extensively. Research has found that the input of terrestrial plant material into aquatic systems plays a critical role in determining the structure of stream invertebrate communities, acting as a source of both food and habitat (Quinn, 1999). Studies done on various types of litter have found that there are certain leaf characteristics that are preferred by the invertebrates which feed upon litter such as: microbial activity, leaf decay, nitrogen content, as well as the presence of physical or chemical deterrents to herbivory (Quinn, 1999). In addition to acting as a food source for some invertebrate species, leaf litter also provides refuge from predators, shelter from extreme changes in water flow, and increases the surface area available for colonization (Dobson, 1994). The availability and type of allochthonous material thus plays a key role in the shaping of aquatic invertebrate communities. Litter bags are commonly used to determine which factor’s control leaf decay, including the role of macroinvertebrates, as well as to investigate macroinvertebrate communities and colonization (Dangles, 2001). Leaf litter bags attract and support a bags, mesh, litter, colonization, size, fine, coarse, between, species, community, invertebrates, bag, leaf, figure, rate, present, collectors, day, two-tail005, population, invertebrate, types, predators, number, 15, trophic, sibbald, mean, lake, increase, fpom, found, data, food, both