Do macroconsumers play a role in leaf litter breakdown in tropical urban streams?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Ambassador Ballroom Noraida Martnez-Rivera , Department of Biology, Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico-Ro Piedras, San Juan, PR Alonso Ramirez , Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies,, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR Allochthonous detritus represent a major resource for aquatic food webs. In forested streams, leaf litter breakdown is an ecosystem process that involves the participation of different biotic (e.g. fishes, invertebrates, microbes) and abiotic (e.g., flow, temperature) components. Urbanization decreases aquatic biodiversity and in urban streams abiotic factors may play a large role controlling leaf breakdown. However, urban streams in Puerto Rico that lack large dams still maintain their natural macroconsumer (i.e., fish and shrimp) fauna. Given this characteristic we designed an experiment to determine whether macroconsumers play a role in controlling leaf breakdown in urban streams in Puerto Rico. Leak pack
